geam

Forms

geam n (plural geamuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish جام (cam, “glass”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Turkish word comes from Persian جام (jâm, “glass, cup”).^[6][1]

The same Turkish word passed into the other Balkan languages: Modern Greek τζάμι (tzámi) and Bulgarian джам (džam).^[5][6] It survives south of the Danube as well: Aromanian geam and Megleno-Romanian geam.^[5][7] The derivatives geamgiu “glazier” and geamlâc “glassed-in veranda” were borrowed too, from the corresponding Turkish derivatives.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a document of 1805 published by Iorga in his Studii și documente.^[3][4] It meant a pane of glass.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the pane in a window or door, the word passed to the glass of a watch or of spectacles, and by extension to the window itself: a sta la geam “to sit at the window”.^[2][8] Glaziers once walked the streets crying geamuri! geamuri!^[4] Old colloquial usage called a monocle a geam, and a umbla cu geamurile în ochi was an ironic way of saying “to wear spectacles”.^[3][8] In slang the plural means spectacles.^[5]

Timeline

• 1805 – first record, in a document published by Iorga.^[3][4]
• 1893 – a se uita la geam “to look out of the window” in Damé's dictionary.^[9]
• 1977 – the compound geam-lunetă “rear window of a car”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pane of glass fixed in the frame of a window or door to let in the light.^[2][1]
2. The glass in the frame of a watch, of spectacles and the like.^[2][3]
3. (by extension) A window: Se uita pe geam la ploaie.^[2][1]
4. (dated, colloquial) A monocle; in slang, the plural means spectacles.^[3][5]

Word family

• geamgiu
• geamlâc

Related words

• Aromanian geam

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 431
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 980
4. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. geam
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. geam
6. ^ a b Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 1, 353
7. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. s.v. geam
8. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 546
9. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. geam
10. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. geam