foc

Forms

foc n (plural focuri)^[1] Besides the plural focuri, an old plural foace is recorded, today mostly used in jest.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin focus (“hearth, fireplace”).^[3][2][1][4] The Latin word first meant the hearth and only later, in Late Latin and the Romance languages, the fire itself, displacing ignis (“fire”).^[4][5][6] It survives in all four branches: Aromanian foc, Megleno-Romanian foc and Istro-Romanian foc.^[3][7][8][9] Its Romance cognates include Italian fuoco, French feu, Occitan foc, Catalan foc, Spanish fuego and Portuguese fogo.^[3][10]

The origin of the Latin word is uncertain: it is often connected with Old Armenian բոց (bocʻ, “flame”), while Matasović and Hamp derive it from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ- (“to burn”), which de Vaan finds hard to reconcile with the Latin sound changes.^[1][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is used in the Hurmuzaki Psalter of the early 16th century.^[12] Tiktin's first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană, and MDA2's the Codicele Voronețean, of about 1563–1583.^[13][2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the flame itself, the word means a fire, a blaze that destroys a house or town, a shot from a gun and the fire of battle, a hearth, a gleam, and figuratively ardour and passion.^[3][14] The sense “misfortune, grief” (a-și vărsa focul “to pour out one's heart”) has a parallel in Calabrian focu amaru “calamity”.^[3][15] As an adverb and in exclamations the word intensifies: frumoasă foc “ever so pretty”, arz-o focul! “confound her!”.^[14][2][3]

Regional senses name illnesses: “fever with chills” in Transylvania from 1689 and a kind of pox in Moldavia from 1742;^[16][17] foc viu is erysipelas.^[16][17] In Muntenia foc was also the room heated by the stove.^[18] Tiktin describes the fires lit on Maundy Thursday so that the souls of the dead could warm themselves.^[13] The word's modern senses include the military command Foc! and armă de foc “firearm”.^[14][19]

Timeline

• early 16th century – foc and focul in the Hurmuzaki Psalter.^[12]
• c. 1563–1583 – the first record MDA2 gives, in the Codicele Voronețean.^[2]
• 1689 – the Transylvanian sense “fever with chills”.^[16]
• 1742 – a kind of pox, in Moldavia.^[16]
• 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary lists foc de artificii “fireworks” and arme de foc “firearms”.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. fire: burning with flame and heat; burning material.^[14][1]
2. The fire in a hearth, stove or oven; a reddish light like that of flames; the sparkle of a gem or precious metal.^[14]
3. A blaze, a fire that destroys buildings or a town.^[14]
4. A shot from a gun; by extension, a volley; figuratively, battle: Foc! “Fire!”, armă de foc “firearm”.^[14]
5. A light or flame used as a signal in navigation.^[14]
6. (figurative) ardour, enthusiasm: cu foc “passionately”.^[14]
7. (figurative) Liveliness, restlessness.^[14]
8. (figurative) Pain, grief, misfortune: a-și vărsa focul “to pour out one's sorrows”.^[14][3]
9. (colloquial, as an intensifier) Very, extremely: frumoasă foc “ever so pretty”.^[14]
10. (regional) Fever;^[20][16] foc viu “erysipelas”.^[20][16]

Word family

• focar
• focos
• înfoca
• fochist
• focușor

Related words

• Latin focus

Usage notes

Foc “jib”, the triangular sail set on the bowsprit of a ship, has a separate source: it was borrowed from French foc, itself from Middle Dutch focke.^[14][21][22] A Transylvanian foc “alcoholic strength” comes from Hungarian fok.^[2] Many idioms use the word: a lua foc “to catch fire”, a pune mâna în foc pentru cineva “to vouch for someone”, a sta ca pe foc “to be on tenterhooks”.^[14][23]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 923
3. ^ 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. foc
4. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 55
5. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. foc
6. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 466
8. ^ Saramandu, Nicolae (coord.) et al. (2010–), Dicționarul dialectului meglenoromân, general și etimologic, fascicles in Fonetică și dialectologie XXIX–, p. 171
9. ^ Kovačec, August (1998), Istrorumunjsko-hrvatski rječnik (s gramatikom i tekstovima), Pula
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3400
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. ^ 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 10:7
13. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. foc
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 403
15. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. foc
16. ^ a b c d e f Costinescu, Mariana; Georgescu, Magdalena; Zgraon, Florentina (1987), Dicționarul limbii române literare vechi (1640–1780): termeni regionali, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 1, 131
17. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 232
18. ^ Marin, Maria; Mărgărit, Iulia, Glosar dialectal. Muntenia, București: Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti”
19. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 449
20. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. foc
21. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. foc
22. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
23. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. foc