freamăt

Forms

freamăt n (plural freamăte)^[1] The old and regional form hreamăt is in Dosoftei's lives of the saints: „Și veniia hreamăt mare, ca de nechedzături de cai” “and a great noise came, as of horses neighing”.^[2][3] Besides the plural freamăte, the older fremete is recorded, formed like gemete.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin fremitus (“a roar, rumble, murmur”).^{[6][7][3][8][9][1]} The Latin noun is formed on fremō (“to roar, rumble”) with the suffix -tus.^[1][10] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrem- (“to hum, rumble”), though he calls the root not completely certain.^[11]

Ciorănescu names the Romance cognates Italian fremito, Spanish frémito, Portuguese frémito, Old French friente and Galician fremido.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in the Apostolul of the priest Bratu, about 1560.^[2] MDA2 dates it from Dosoftei's lives of the saints (1682–1686), where a great hreamăt “noise” comes as of neighing horses.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The forms hreamăt and hremet belong to the old language and to Moldavia and Transylvania;^[8][4][3] reamăt and ramăt are southern.^[8][4][3] In the old texts the word meant a loud noise, roar or din: Beldiman writes of shouting and din in the town, so that nothing could be understood.^[2] MDA2 keeps the sense “uproar” mainly for the forms hreamăt and ramăt.^[3]

In the modern literary language it is above all the rustling of leaves, as in Eminescu's dark forest shivering with a long rustle of leaves.^[2][12] The figurative sense “thrill, shudder” followed French frémissement, according to Tiktin.^[2][7] The verb fremăta was formed from it.^[13][14]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – in the Apostolul of the priest Bratu, the first record.^[2]
• 1682–1686 – hreamăt mare “a great noise” in Dosoftei's lives of the saints.^[3][2]
• 1862 – the verb fremăta in Alecsandri's poems.^[15]
• 1870 – Cihac records freamăt, hreamăt and vreamăt “noise, din, rustling”.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dull sound made by leaves moved by the wind, by the waves of the sea and the like; a rustle: Se auzea freamătul pădurii.^[7][3][1]
2. A murmur of muffled or indistinct voices.^[7][3]
3. Noise, din, uproar.^[7][3][1]
4. (figurative) A thrill, a shiver of emotion.^[7][17]

Word family

• fremăta
• fremătător

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. freámăt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 942
4. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 527
5. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. freamăt
6. ^ 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. freamăt
7. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 413
8. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. freamăt
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3492
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ 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. freámăt
13. ^ DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 414
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. fremătá
15. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. fremătá
16. ^ Cihac, A. de (1870), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane I: Éléments latins comparés avec les autres langues romanes, Frankfurt am Main, p. 99
17. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. freamăt