frigare

Forms

frigare f (plural frigări)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian frige + -are.^[2][3][4][5] Ciorănescu and Scriban compare nouns of the same type such as vânzare and crezare; the DA adds the model of grătar, and Tiktin that of căldare.^[4][5][6][7] Ciorănescu finds the DA's analogy insufficient.^[4] The verb frige is inherited from frigō (“to roast, fry”).^[4]

Others take the noun from Latin: Pușcariu reconstructed Vulgar Latin *frigālis, and Candrea and Densusianu *frigāria, whose sound they take to have been influenced by the verb.^[8][9][4] Șăineanu and the CADE follow Candrea and Densusianu.^[10][11] Wiktionary leaves both explanations open.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in the Romanian Herodotus of 1645, where he also notes an old sense, an instrument of torture.^[7] The plural frigări occurs in Dosoftei's lives of the saints (1682–1686) and in the Bucharest Bible of 1688.^[12]

Semantic evolution

The word names the iron or wooden spit for roasting meat over embers, with the phrase la frigare “spit-roasted”.^[2][6] In the old language it was also an instrument of torture: the Menaion of 1716 speaks of durearea frigărilor “the pain of the spits”.^[6][3]

Later uses are jocular or regional: Vlahuță's captain rattling his frigare is wearing a sabre; a cylinder turned on a spit was an old coffee roaster; and in some regions the word means fire tongs.^[7][5][3] In the plural it is also the folk name of a marsh crane's-bill, Geranium palustre.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1645 – in the Romanian Herodotus, the first record.^[7]
• 1682–1686 – frigări in Dosoftei's lives of the saints.^[7]
• 1688 – frigări in the Bucharest Bible.^[12]
• 1716 – frigărilor “of the spits”, an instrument of torture, in a Menaion.^[6]
• 1801 – frigáre “spit” in Klein's dictionary.^[13]
• 1825 – frigare with Hungarian nyárs and German Bratspieß in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. A spit or skewer: an iron or wooden rod, sharp at one end, on which meat is stuck to roast it over embers: Ciobanii au pus mielul la frigare.^[2][3][1]
2. (regional) Fire tongs.^[3]
3. (obsolete) An instrument of torture.^[3][7]
4. (botany, in the plural) A herb of the geranium family with long rough hairs and large purple flowers, used in folk medicine (Geranium palustre).^[2][3]

Word family

• frigăruie

Related words

• frige

Usage notes

La frigare “on the spit, spit-roasted” is used as an adjective and adverb.^[2][15]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 415
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 944
4. ^ a b c d e 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. frige
5. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 528
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. frigáre
7. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. frigáre
8. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 56
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. frigare
10. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 260
11. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. frigare
12. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Iosip la Macavei 11:19
13. ^ Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 362
14. ^ Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 226
15. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 330