fix

Forms

fix m or n (feminine singular fixă, masculine plural ficși, feminine/neuter plural fixe)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French fixe, together with Latin fixus (“fixed, fastened”), as DEX, MDA2 and the neologism dictionaries give it.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The DA calls it a neologism from French, and Scriban took it from Latin.^[6][7]

The Latin adjective is the participle of fīgō (“to fix, drive in”).^[8][9] French borrowed its word from Latin about 1265.^[10] The same Latin verb gave the inherited înfige and the neologisms prefix and sufix.^[9][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 has fixŭ with the phrases vederea fixă “a fixed gaze”, un preț fix and o oră fixă.^[11] MDA2 dates it to N. Dunăreanu's Răsplata (1908), with the adverb: the man shouted, looking „fix în ochii noștri”.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Șăineanu's dictionary of 1929 already had stele fixe “fixed stars”, preț fix and idee fixă “an idea that obsesses the mind”.^[12] Chemistry used it for bodies that do not volatilize, such as gold and charcoal.^[7][6] As an adverb it means “exactly” with the hour: Scriban gives e trei fix “it is three o'clock sharp”.^[7]

A Muntenian dialect glossary records the sense “strict, correct” of a person.^[13] Slang made a noun fix, plural fixuri, “obsession” and “an intravenous injection of a drug”.^[14] Since the 2000s the press has also used fix for a landline telephone.^[15]

Timeline

• 1870 – fixŭ in Costinescu's dictionary.^[11]
• 1893–1895 – in Damé's dictionary.^[16]
• 1908 – the adverb in N. Dunăreanu's Răsplata.^[3][6]
• 1929 – idee fixă in Șăineanu's dictionary.^[12]
• 1939 – e trei fix “three o'clock sharp”.^[7]
• 2004 – fix “landline telephone” in the press.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That does not change place or position; motionless: un punct fix.^[2][3]
2. Firmly joined to the part it is attached to: șurub fix.^[2]
3. Kept on one point: privire fixă.^[2]
4. That does not vary; stable: preț fix;^[2] idee fixă “an obsession”.^[2]
5. (of hours) exact: la ora fixă.^[2]
6. (chemistry) That does not volatilize or decompose.^[3][7]

Adverb

1. Fixedly, without moving the eyes: Se uita fix la mine.^[17][3]
2. (informal) Exactly, sharp: Vin la cinci fix.^[7][1]

Related words

• fixa
• înfige
• prefix
• sufix
• Latin fixus

Usage notes

The masculine plural is spelled ficși.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 397
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 911
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. fix
5. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. fix
6. ^ a b c d 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. fix
7. ^ a b c d e f g Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 511
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 443
12. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 253
13. ^ Marin, Maria; Mărgărit, Iulia, Glosar dialectal. Muntenia, București: Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti”
14. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. fix
15. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. fix
16. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. 1
17. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 297