extrem

Forms

extrem m or n (feminine singular extremă, masculine plural extremi, feminine/neuter plural extreme)^[1] An old form is estrem: „Esemplu d-aceste două estreme ne dau două paseri” “two birds give us an example of these two extremes” (1859).^[2][3] As a neuter noun it had an old plural extremuri.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French extrême, also with borrowed from Latin extrēmus (“outermost, last”) as its model, a neologism of the 19th century.^[3][5][6][1] MDA2 names only the French word, the DLR the French with the Latin for one group of senses, and Scriban only the Latin.^[4][2][7] The French word was borrowed from the same Latin adjective in the 14th century.^[8][1] The Latin adjective is the superlative of exter (“outer”), from ex (“out of”).^[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Gheorghe Asachi's mathematics textbook of 1836, as a term of arithmetic: the four numbers of a proportion are divided into extreme and middle terms.^[3][4][2]

Semantic evolution

From the extremes of a proportion the noun spread to the two opposite limits of anything, and de la un extrem la altul “from one extreme to the other” is quoted from the same year.^[2] The proverb extremele se ating “extremes meet” is quoted from 1859, of politics.^[2] The feminine noun extremă was made from the plural extreme and recorded from 1863; it names the far right or left in politics and a wing player in football, handball and hockey.^[3][5] As an adjective the word means “farthest”, “very great, excessive” and “very serious”, and extrem de forms superlatives.^[5][7] Extremist (1879) and extremism (1892) were borrowed from French.^[3]

Timeline

• 1836 – extrem in Asachi's mathematics textbook, the first record.^[3][4]
• 1836 – de la un extrem la altul “from one extreme to the other”.^[2]
• 1859 – extremele se întâlnesc “extremes meet”, of politics.^[2]
• 1861 – the Latin phrase in extremis.^[3]
• 1863 – the feminine noun extremă, as estremă.^[3]
• 1879 – extremist.^[3]
• 1892 – extremism.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Very great, excessive;^[5][6] la extrem “to the utmost”;^[5][6] extrem de “extremely”: extrem de greu.^[5][6]
2. Very serious; of remedies or solutions: drastic, used only in grave cases.^[5]
3. Situated at the farthest point, at the end or edge: punctul extrem.^[5][10]
4. (of ideas, politics) Holding the most uncompromising positions.^[6]
5. (mathematics) Having the greatest or the least value a quantity can take.^[5]

Noun

1. (mathematics, masculine) The first or last term of a proportion.^[5][4]
2. (mathematics, neuter) The maximum or minimum of a function.^[5]
3. (neuter) Either of two opposite limits: a trece de la un extrem la altul “to go from one extreme to the other”.^[2][7]

Word family

• extremă

Related words

• extremitate
• extremist
• extremism
• Latin extrēmus
• French extrême

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. extrem
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. extrem
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 867
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 375
6. ^ a b c d e Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. extrem
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 487
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. extrem