experiment

Forms

experiment n (plural experimente)^[1] The earliest texts have many forms: isperemânt, isperimânt, esperimânt, sperimânt, speriment, experement and experment.^[2][3] A text of 1813 has „Dintru aceste îsperimânturi (ispitiri) luminat se pricepe” “from these experiments (trials) it is clearly understood”, with an old plural in -uri.^[4][3]

Etymology

DELR, MDA2 and the DLR give three sources: borrowed from Latin experīmentum (“trial, test”), borrowed from German Experiment, borrowed from Italian esperimento, with the older Italian sperimento.^[2][3][4] DEX, DLRM, Scriban and Wiktionary give Latin alone;^{[5][6][7][1][8][9]} DN gives Latin and compares German;^{[5][6][7][1][8][9]} MDN gives German and Latin.^{[5][6][7][1][8][9]} Tiktin takes it from Latin, directly or through another language.^[10] The old variants beginning with ⟨is-⟩, ⟨es-⟩ and ⟨sp-⟩ follow the Italian forms.^[2]

The Latin noun is formed on experior (“to try, test”) with -mentum.^[11][1] German borrowed it from Latin in the 15th century, first as a medical term.^[12] The Italian word, from the same Latin noun, is recorded from the 14th century.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1781, in Micu; the DLR cites the same reference.^[10][4] DELR and MDA2 date it to 1813, in the forms isperemânt and îsperimânt, in works on winemaking and on sugar, with the sense of a scientific trial; the DLR's 1813 quotation glosses it with ispitiri “trials”.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word entered with the sciences of the early 19th century: the DLR quotes it from works on physics, chemistry and physiology, and the variant forms settled on experiment in the second half of the century.^[4] It long competed with experiență, which DEX still gives as a synonym.^[5] Maiorescu and Eminescu used it in the wider sense of a trial or attempt, of spelling or of politics.^[4] In the arts it came to mean the use of new forms and techniques.^[8][4] The verb experimenta is recorded from 1842 and the adjective experimental from 1832.^[2]

Timeline

• 1781 – first record, in Micu, according to Tiktin.^[10]
• 1813 – isperemânt and îsperimânturi in two scientific works.^[2][3]
• 1829 – the adjective experimentalnic;^[2] experimental in 1832.^[2]
• 1842 – the verb experimenta.^[2]
• 1856 – esperimente de hemie “chemistry experiments” in a calendar.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An experiment: a method of scientific research in which a phenomenon is produced or changed on purpose, under controlled conditions, to study it and the laws that govern it: un experiment de laborator.^[5][3][1]
2. A trial or test made to find out the qualities of someone or something.^[3][4]
3. In the arts and literature, the use of new forms and techniques by way of trial.^[8][9]
4. (obsolete) Temptation, ispită; a putting to the test.^[3]

Related words

• experiență
• expert

Usage notes

Experiment-limită is an experiment pushed to the extreme, and de experiment means “experimental”.^[3][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. experiență
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 861
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. experiment
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 371
6. ^ a b c Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. experiment
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 484
8. ^ a b c d e Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. experiment
9. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. experiment
10. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. experiment
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. experimentum
12. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 267
13. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. esperimento
14. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. experiment