fapt

Forms

fapt n (plural fapte)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin factum (“deed, act”),^{[2][3][4][1][5][6]} the neuter past participle of faciō (“to do, make”) used as a noun.^[1][7] It was at first also the past participle of face; after the 16th century făcut replaced it, on the model of other verbs.^[2][1] It survives in Aromanian faptu and Megleno-Romanian fat “made”.^[2][8][9] Romance cognates include Italian fatto, Occitan fach, French fait, Spanish hecho and Portuguese feito.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The psalter index finds fapt in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, of the early 16th century (Psalm 85:8), and then in the psalters of Coresi.^[10] MDA2 records the participle “made” from 1550 and the noun from the Palia of 1581.^[3] In the old language it meant “deed, act”, “work, building” and “creation”: Tiktin quotes „Faptul mâinilor mele” “the work of my hands” and „de la faptul lumii” “since the creation of the world” (Dosoftei).^[11]

Semantic evolution

The old senses “creation, making” and “creature” are now obsolete; the modern word means “fact, event that really happened” and “act, deed”.^[2][4] With words for times of day it means “beginning”: faptul zilei “daybreak”.^[4][5] In folk belief fapt (plural fapturi) is a spell or charm, a sense shared with Aromanian faptu and with Romance words for “witchcraft”.^[4][8][11] It also named several children's illnesses, an insect larva and some plants, with the plural fapți.^[2][11]

The feminine faptă “deed” was formed from the plural fapte, though Tiktin and the DA derive it from Latin facta;^[2] făptui, făptaș and înfăptui are later derivatives.^[2]

Timeline

• early 16th century – fapt in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[10]
• 1550 – fapt still in use as the participle “made”.^[3]
• 1581 – the noun in the Palia.^[3]
• 1648 – „cu faptul și cu adevărul” “in deed and in truth” in the New Testament.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fact: an event or circumstance that really happened;^[4][1] de fapt “in fact, actually”: De fapt, nimeni nu știa adevărul.^[4][1]
2. An act or deed done by someone;^[4][1] fapt împlinit “accomplished fact”.^[4][1]
3. (popular) With times of day, the beginning: în faptul zilei “at daybreak”.^[4]
4. (popular) A spell or charm (plural fapturi).^[4]

Word family

• faptă
• făptaș
• făptui
• făptuitor
• înfăptui

Related words

• face
• Aromanian faptu
• Latin factum

Usage notes

The plural is fapte;^[4] fapturi is used in the sense “spell”.^[4] The phrase fapt e că… means “the fact is that…”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. fapt
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 876
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 381
5. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 50
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3135
7. ^ Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 102
8. ^ a b Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 448
9. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 126
10. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 85:8
11. ^ 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. fapt