fruntar

Forms

fruntar n (plural fruntare)^[1] In Transylvania the word also appears as fruntariu: „Cu deosebire frumos este fruntariul” “the iconostasis is especially beautiful”.^[2] The New Testament of 1648 has a feminine fruntire for the Greek “phylactery”.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian frunte + -ar, in the view of MDA2 and Ciorănescu.^[3][4] Others take it straight from Latin: Pascu, the REW and the DA from Latin frontāle (“frontlet, headband of a horse”), Candrea and Densusianu from Vulgar Latin *frontārium.^[4][5][2] The DA allows the second Latin form for the senses “iconostasis”, “millstone cover” and “skylight”, keeping the first for the others.^[2] DEX names both the Latin word and the Romanian derivative.^[6]

The REW puts the word beside Italian frontale, French frontal, Spanish frontal and Portuguese frontal, which in Spanish and Portuguese name the headband of horses.^[5] frunte is from Latin frōns, frontem (“forehead”).^[4] The DA lists frontal as its learned doublet.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a church document from Rodna in Transylvania, dated before 1780, which speaks of the making of the fruntar of the church, that is, its iconostasis.^[2][3] A feminine fruntire “phylactery” occurs earlier, in the New Testament of 1648.^[2]

Semantic evolution

All the senses name something at the front or on the forehead.^[2][3] In the church it was the iconostasis, a Transylvanian use.^[2] In the mill it was the board in front that covers the millstones and holds the hopper.^[2] On the head it was the strap of the bridle across a horse's forehead and a strip of velvet that women tied under their cap to keep the hair in.^[2][7] In Banat it meant a skylight.^[2]

In carpentry it names the main beam along the top of the porch, which carries the lesser beams of the house;^[6] DEX gives this sense first.^[6] In Maramureș it is the top beam of the wooden gate that joins the posts, often carved.^[8] In Oltenia it is the beam over the walls of a well that carries its roof.^[9]

Timeline

• 1648 – the feminine fruntire “phylactery” in the New Testament.^[2]
• before 1780 – fruntar “iconostasis” in a church document from Rodna, the first record.^[2][3]
• 1893 – Damé glosses it with French “frontal” and the “fronteau” of the Jews.^[10]
• 1931 – the CADE has the bridle strap, the mill beam, the iconostasis and the women's headband.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The main beam along the top of a porch, on which the lesser beams of a house rest.^[6][3]
2. (regional, Transylvania) The iconostasis of a church; catapeteasmă.^[6][3]
3. The strap of a bridle that joins its two side pieces and passes over the horse's forehead.^[6][11]
4. (regional) The board of a mill that covers the millstones and holds the hopper.^[3][2]
5. (regional) A strip of velvet that women tie under their cap to keep the hair in place.^[3][2]
6. (regional, Maramureș) The top beam of a wooden gate, joining the posts.^[8]

Related words

• frontal
• Latin frontāle

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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. fruntar
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, 947
4. ^ a b c 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. frunte
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3534
6. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 416
7. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. fruntar
8. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. fruntár
9. ^ Cazacu, Boris (coord.) et al. (1967), Glosar dialectal. Oltenia, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 40
10. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. fruntar
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. fruntar