executiv

Forms

executiv m or n (feminine singular executivă, masculine plural executivi, feminine/neuter plural executive)^[1] Older variants are esecutiv and ezecutiv;^[2] Sbiera writes of the comitetul esecutiv elected by a people's assembly.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French exécutif.^[3][6][7][1] MDA2 and the DLR add Italian esecutivo as a second source.^[4][5] Scriban took it as formed on execuțiune after consecutiv.^[8] The French adjective comes from Latin executivus.^[1] The Italian word is formed on exsecūtus, the past participle of exsequor (“to follow out, carry out”), with the suffix -ivo.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is from 1830, with the sense “charged with carrying out the laws”.^[3] MDA2 dates it from Stamati's dictionary of technical and difficult words (1851).^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with the political vocabulary of the 19th century, in the phrase putere executivă “executive power”, the power that carries out the laws passed by the legislature.^[2][4][11] Xenopol uses it of the divan executiv under the Russian provisional administration.^[5] Comitet executiv, the elected committee that carries out a body's decisions, is found in Caragiale and in Sbiera.^[5] In the 20th century it was used of officers who carry out orders, as in director executiv, and as a neuter noun executivul “the executive, the government”.^[5][4] In Italian, potere esecutivo is recorded from a 1773 translation of Locke, and the noun from 1798.^[10]

Timeline

• 1830 – the first record.^[3]
• 1851 – in Stamati's dictionary.^[4]
• 1870 – putere executivă in Costinescu's dictionary.^[2]
• 1931 – CADE requires the executive power to be kept apart from the legislative.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. executive: charged with carrying out the laws and the decisions of higher bodies.^[6][4][1]
2. putere executivă: the executive power, the government and the whole administration headed by the head of state, one of the three powers in the separation of powers.^[6][4]
3. organ executiv: a state body that organizes and ensures the carrying out of the laws;^[7] comitet executiv: an elected committee that carries out the tasks set by the body above it.^[4][5]

Noun

1. The executive: the body that exercises executive power; by extension, the government.^[6][4]

Related words

• executa
• execuție

Usage notes

The first syllables are pronounced /egze-/.^[6][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 405
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. executa
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 854
5. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. executiv
6. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 369
7. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. executiv
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 482
9. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. esecutivo
10. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. executiv