fior

Forms

fior m (plural fiori)^[1] Beldiman's verse chronicle of 1821 has the Moldavian form hior.^[2][3] Besides fiori there is a neuter plural fioruri;^[4][3] MDA2 also records an old feminine fioare.^[4][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin febris (“fever”).^[5][4][3][6] The form is not the expected one, and the dictionaries explain it differently: Ciorănescu says the regular outcome would have been a singular ⟨*fiore⟩, and that the singular was made from the plural ⟨fiori⟩.^[5] Tiktin, more cautiously, starts from a Latin plural ⟨*febrī⟩, through ⟨*fieuri⟩.^[2] Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu, and Scriban start from a Latin *februm;^[5][7][8] Candrea and Densusianu explain the stress and the /o/ by the derivative fioros.^[5][7][8] Wiktionary takes the noun as a back-formation from înfiora, which it derives from *infebrizō.^[1]

The direct descendant of the Latin noun south of the Danube is Aromanian heavrã (“fever”).^[2][1] Aromanian also has hior (“shiver”) and the verb nhiuredz (“to shiver”): Pascu explains the verb by a Latin *infebrāre, which Papahagi rejects on phonetic grounds.^[5][9][10] Romance cognates of the Latin word include Italian febbre, French fièvre and Spanish fiebre, and dialects of northern Italy have forms close to the Romanian one.^[5][6] The Latin noun is traced to Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”).^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a text of 1793 (Predetici).^[2] MDA2 dates the word from Beldiman's Tragedia of 1821, where it has the Moldavian form hior.^[3][2] From the start it means the shudder of cold or fear rather than fever itself.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The Latin “fever” narrowed in Romanian to the shiver that comes with it: the main sense is a light feeling of cold with trembling.^[4][3] By extension it became a strong emotion that makes one shudder, above all fear, and a nervous shock.^[4][3] It is often in the plural with verbs of seizing or passing: mă trec fiori, îl apucă fiorii.^[12][2] Costinescu (1870) still defines it as the trembling caused by cold that comes before a fever.^[13]

Timeline

• 1793 – the first record, in a text Tiktin cites as Predetici.^[2]
• 1821 – hior in Beldiman's verse chronicle.^[3][2]
• 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary links it with the onset of fever.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A light feeling of cold, usually with trembling; a shiver.^[4][3][1]
2. A strong emotion that makes one shudder, above all fear; a thrill.^[4][3][1]
3. A nervous shock, a jolt.^[4][3]

Word family

• înfiora
• înfiorător

Related words

• febră
• Aromanian heavrã

Usage notes

MDA2 and DA have a separate regional noun fior “dwarf mountain pine, juniper”, of unknown origin; the DA suggests a diminutive of pin.^[3][14] Ciorănescu does not count fioros in the family of fior and compares it with fiară.^[5]

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 Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. fior
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 908
4. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 395
5. ^ 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. fior
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3230
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 508
8. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. fior
9. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 757
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 557
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 293
13. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 440
14. ^ 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. fior