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făurar

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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word făurar

făurar1 February

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1630 the Ieud manuscript
Inherited from
Latin Febrarius
Ultimate origin
Latin Februārius
Derivations · făurar1

Pronunciation

Forms

făurar m (uncountable)[1]

Etymology

The word for the month is inherited from Late Latin Febrārius (“February”), from Latin Februārius.[1][2][3][4] Candrea and Densusianu start from this popular form beside the classical one; the DA and DEX write the etymon ⟨febr(u)arius⟩.[5][6][4] Ciorănescu calls it the popular form, beside the obsolete fevruarie, from Slavonic, and the learned februarie, from Latin;[2][1] Wiktionary calls it a doublet of februarie.[2][1]

The month name fell together with făurar2 “smith”, formed on faur2 “smith”.[7][6] From that identification Romanian made faur1 “February”, a back-formation from făurar; the DA compares Italian ferrajo, which also had both senses.[6][5][2][8] Șăineanu records the folk reading behind it: the month of the smiths, who make the tools for ploughing.[9]

The Aromanian form is flivrar, which Candrea and Densusianu take from Modern Greek and Wiktionary derives from Late Latin, perhaps through Modern Greek Φλεβάρης (Fleváris) or influenced by it.[2][5][1] Ciorănescu compares Albanian fruer; the Romance cognates include Italian febbraio, French février, Catalan febrer, Spanish febrero and Portuguese fevereiro.[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the manuscript of Ieud of about 1630: „Și voiu ave a face în luna lu' făurar 11 dzile întunericu mare” “and I shall make eleven days of great darkness in the month of February”.[11][12] Dosoftei's Lives of the Saints (1682–1686) has the articled form: „Și-ntrebă pre bătrânul ce lună-i aceasta, și-i dzâsă: Făurariul” “and he asked the old man what month this was, and he told him: February”.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has always named the second month of the year, and today it is its popular name beside februarie.[4][3] It is used mostly in the phrase luna lui făurar “the month of February”.[6][11] Folk verses from Bucovina wish the cold month away: „Fie orișicât de rece, Numai Făurar de-ar trece!” “however cold it may be, if only February would pass!”[6] DLRLC labels it regional and archaizing.[13] In Maramureș it is still the usual name of February.[11]

The DA notes a blend of făurar and fevruarie, Feurarie, in a document Iorga published.[6] An inscription of 1814 calls the month Favore.[14]

Timeline

  • c. 1630 – în luna lu' făurar in the Ieud manuscript, the first record.[11]
  • 1682–1686 – Făurariul in Dosoftei's Lives of the Saints.[3][7]
  • 1814 – the month called Favore in an inscription.[14]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (popular) February, the second month of the year.[4][3][1]

făurar2 smith

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
Ultimate origin
Latin faber
Etymology tree of făurar2
inherited borrowed derived
Romanian faur
Romanian făurar

Pronunciation

Forms

făurar m (plural făurari)[1]

Etymology

The word for the smith is formed from Romanian faur + -ar, with the agent suffix, on the old word for “smith”.[6][4][3][7][1] That word continues Latin faber (“craftsman, smith”).[8][15]

Byhan records Istro-Romanian faurǫr “smith” at Žejane; like făurar “smith”, he explains it as faur with the suffix -ar, against Cihac's derivation from a Latin *fabruarius.[16] Ciorănescu lists the Istro-Romanian form under the month name.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 takes its first record from Ispirescu's tales, where Vulcan is făurarul zeilor “the smith of the gods”.[3][13] The DA also quotes Slavici: „Cum intră făurarul în făurărie” “as the smith enters the smithy”.[6]

Semantic evolution

The DA labels the word rare, and DEX obsolete: fierar is the usual word.[6][4] Twentieth-century poetry gave it the figurative sense “maker, creator”, as in Deșliu's verse about the makers of a great dream.[13][4] In Maramureș it is recorded in the sense “smith” beside the month name.[17]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (obsolete) A smith, a blacksmith.[4][3][1]
  2. (figurative, poetic) A maker, a creator.[4][3]
  • februarie
  • fevruarie
  • făuri
  • fierar

Usage notes

DEX numbers the month name as făurar¹ and the smith as făurar².[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. făurar
  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, 887
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 385
  5. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. făurar
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. făurar
  7. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. făurar
  8. ^ a b DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 383
  9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 246
  10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3120
  11. ^ a b c d Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. făurar
  12. ^ Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. făurar
  13. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 271
  14. ^ a b Constantinescu, N. A. (1963), Dicționar onomastic romînesc, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. făurar
  15. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. faur
  16. ^ Byhan, Arthur (1899), Istrorumänisches Glossar, Sechster Jahresbericht des Instituts für rumänische Sprache zu Leipzig: 174–366, p. 213
  17. ^ Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. făurár

Related etymologies

  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
  • sta · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Făurar.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/f%C4%83urar. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·