folcel

Forms

folcel m (plural folcei)^[1]

Etymology

Ciorănescu and MDA2 take it as a diminutive formed in Romanian, from Romanian foale + -cel, comparing măricel.^[2][3] Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the DA derive it instead from Vulgar Latin *follicellus (“little bag”), a diminutive of follis.^[4][5][6][2] The REW reconstructs the same Latin form, with Aromanian folce (“small bellows”), Italian filugello (“floss silk”) and Old French foucel.^[7] Wiktionary gives both explanations, and compares folliculus.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dosoftei's Viața și petrecerea sfinților (1682–1686), in the readings for 22 November: „Puterea noastră iaste ca un folcel îmflat” “our strength is like a blown-up little skin bag”.^[6][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Beside the old literary sense of a small skin bag or bellows, Candrea and Densusianu record from Transylvania the sense “plum dried in the oven”, which the REW also lists.^[5][7] The regional dictionaries record it as an old regional word, synonymous with folcuț.^[9]

Timeline

• 1682–1686 – in Dosoftei's Lives of the Saints, the first record.^[6][3]
• 1905 – Pușcariu derives it from Latin.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (regional, obsolete) A small bellows or skin bag.^[3][6][1]
2. (regional, Transylvania) A plum dried in the oven.^[5]

Related words

• foale
• folcuț

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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. foale
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, 925
4. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 55
5. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. folcel
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. folcel
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3418
8. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. foale
9. ^ Bulgăr, Gheorghe; Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gheorghe (2002), Dicționar de arhaisme și regionalisme, 2 vols., București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. folcel