fremăta

Forms

fremăta (third-person singular present freamătă, past participle fremătat) 1st conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian freamăt (“rustle”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Ciorănescu allows that it may also continue Late Latin fremitō, as Pușcariu proposed, and compares Old Tuscan fremitare and Corsican frumita (“to neigh”).^[6][1] The noun is inherited from Latin fremitus, formed on fremō (“to roar”).^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in Alecsandri's poems of 1862, of fir trees rustling;^[5][4][3] MDA2 cites the same poem from the 1875 edition.^[5][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first used of leaves and trees, then of forests and the sea.^[2][7] Of people it means to thrill or tremble with emotion, and of crowds to stir;^[2][8] NODEX adds that a group can show its disapproval by such stirring and murmur.^[2][8] A transitive use, trees shaking their leaves, is also recorded.^[7] The DA records the participle fremătat “hummed” of a song sung between the teeth.^[4]

Timeline

• 1862 – fremătau “were rustling”, of fir trees, in Alecsandri's poems.^[5][4]
• 1875 – Alecsandri's collected poems, MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1931 – “to make a rustling, to whiz” in the CADE.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (of leaves, trees, forests, the sea; third person) To rustle, to make a soft murmur: Plopii fremătau în vântul serii.^[2][3][1]
2. (of people) To thrill, tremble or quiver with emotion.^[2][3][1]
3. (of crowds) To stir, to be agitated.^[2][8]

Word family

• fremătător

Related words

• freamăt

Usage notes

The present is freamăt, freamătă; older popular texts also have fremătez, as in Cerna's fremătează.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 414
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d e f 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
5. ^ a b c d 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
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 Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 329
8. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. fremăta
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. fremăta