genunchi

Forms

genunchi m (plural genunchi)^[1] Old and regional singulars include genuchi, the form under which Ciorănescu enters the word, and genunche;^[2][3][4] DEX labels genunche regional, and Tiktin records it, masculine, in Oltenia and Transylvania.^[2][3][4] MDA2 lists further old or regional forms such as ghenunchi, gerunche and ghenuche, and old neuter plurals genunche and genunchiuri.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin genuculum (“knee”), an alteration of geniculum (“little knee”), the diminutive of genū (“knee”).^{[2][6][5][3][1]} The diminutive replaced the plain Latin word for “knee” entirely in Romance.^[6] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ǵónu.^[1]

The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian dzinuclju, Megleno-Romanian zinucľu and Istro-Romanian jeruncl'u.^[2][7][8] Its Romance cognates include Italian ginocchio, Occitan genolh, French genou, Catalan genoll, Spanish hinojo and Portuguese joelho.^[2][6]

Ciorănescu treats genuchi and the form with an inserted nasal as parallel forms; the nasal form is commoner in the east.^[2] The REW explains the singular genunche from a neuter-type plural, which Romanian shares with dialects of Italy and the Grisons.^[6] Ungureanu cites the Late Latin word from the Pactus Alamannorum, the Edictum Rothari of 643 and other early medieval texts.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is the Codicele Voronețean of about 1563–1583;^[5][4] Tiktin cites the 16th-century Psaltirea Scheiană (Psalm 77:55).^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Besides the knee, old Romanian used the word for “lineage, generation, people”.^[2][10] The Academy dictionary explained this sense by the influence of Old Church Slavonic колѣно (kolěno), which means both “knee” and “generation”;^[2][11] Ciorănescu thinks it may also be original.^[2][11] The knee also figures in gestures of submission and prayer: a cădea în genunchi “to fall on one's knees” and în genunchi “kneeling”.^[3][4] In modern use the word also means the bagging of trousers at the knees.^[3]

Its derivatives include genuncher “long waistcoat; kneepad” and îngenunchea “to kneel; to subdue”, which some explain from a Latin *ingenuculāre.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1563–1583 – in the Codicele Voronețean, MDA2's first record.^[5]
• 16th century – in the Psaltirea Scheiană (Psalm 77:55).^[4]
• 1688 – genuchi and genunchi in the Bucharest Bible.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The knee: the part of the leg around the joint of the thigh bone and the shin bone, including the kneecap;^[3][5] oul genunchiului “the kneecap”.^[3][5]
2. în genunchi “kneeling”, and pe genunchi “on one's lap”: Mama ține copilul pe genunchi.^[3][5]
3. A blow given with the knee.^[3]
4. A bagging of trousers at the knees.^[3]

Word family

• îngenunchea
• genuncher
• genunchieră

Related words

• Aromanian dzinuclju

Usage notes

Cu genunchii la gură “with the knees at the mouth” means huddled up, and a i se tăia cuiva genunchii is to feel one's knees give way from emotion.^[3] Până la genunchiul broaștei “up to the frog's knee” means very little.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. genuchi
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 433
4. ^ 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. genunchi
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 984
6. ^ a b c d Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3937
7. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 81
8. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 339
9. ^ Ungureanu, Dan (2024), Istoria limbii române, Chișinău: Cartier, p. 331
10. ^ Mareș, Alexandru (coord.) (1994), Crestomația limbii române vechi, vol. I (1521–1639), București: Editura Academiei Române
11. ^ a b Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 2, 565
12. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. s.v. genunchi