genune

Forms

genune f (plural genuni)^[1] The Codicele Voronețean has the older form gerure: „Gerurea Chilichiască și Pamfiliiască nutămu” “we sailed over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia” (Acts 27:5).^[2][3] Other old and regional forms are geroe, genună and, in Țara Oașului, gerune.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed, and DEX and MDA2 call it unknown.^[6][5] Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Latin caerula (“the blue of the sea, the sea”), with the variant geroe from caerulea.^[4][1] The regular outcome was gerure, dissimilated to gerune, which is still heard in northern Transylvania.^[4] The standard form arose by assimilation or a false reversal of rhotacism.^[4] He explains the sense “deep still water” by the blue-green colour of such pools, as Latin also called a spring blue.^[4]

Candrea proposed Vulgar Latin *gyrō (“whirlpool”), with Italian girone; the REW and the DA cite this view, and Scriban, CADE and NODEX follow it.^{[7][4][8][9][10]} Cihac's Late Latin gehenna is unlikely to Ciorănescu.^[4] Hasdeu took it for a Dacian word and Russu for a substrate word, views Tiktin records.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a place name Genune of 1415.^[2] In Romanian texts it appears in the Codicele Voronețean (c. 1563–1583) as gerure, for the open sea.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The old texts use it for the deep sea: Dosoftei's verse psalter has ships crossing „luciu de genune” “the shining deep”, and the Bible of 1688 has genunea for the sea off Cilicia.^[3][11] Dosoftei's genune de foc is the fiery pit of hell.^[2][3] Cantemir once uses it for a great multitude of Tatars; the DA thinks this a Slavonic model, as with întuneric “darkness” for a host.^[3]

In Moldavia and Maramureș it still means a deep, still stretch of a river.^[2][12] Eminescu revived it in poetry, where it became an abyss or bottomless chasm, the main sense today.^[4][3][6]

Timeline

• 1415 – the place name Genune.^[2]
• c. 1563-1583 – gerure “the sea” in the Codicele Voronețean.^[5][2]
• 1688 – genunea for the sea off Cilicia in the Bucharest Bible.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deep chasm, an abyss.^[6][1]
2. (regional) A body of deep, still water, as where a stream is dammed.^[5][3]
3. (archaic) The sea.^[5][1]
4. (rare, archaic) A great multitude of people.^[5][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. genune
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. genune
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. genune
5. ^ 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, 984
6. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 433
7. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. genune
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 549
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. genune
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. genune
11. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Acts 27:5
12. ^ Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. genune