ghimpe

Forms

ghimpe m (plural ghimpi)^[1] An old and colloquial form is ghimp, and the diminutive is ghimpuruș.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.^[3][1] Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *pungulum, formed on pungō (“to prick”), the source also of Italian pungolo: ⟨*punglu⟩ would have become ⟨*glumpu⟩ by metathesis, then ⟨*ghiumpu⟩ (as in chiag), and by dissimilation ⟨ghimp(u)⟩.^[3][1] Most earlier scholars, among them Cihac, Meyer, Philippide, Jokl and Rosetti, took it from Albanian gjemb (“thorn”).^[3] Ciorănescu argues the other way: the Albanian variants point to a Romance etymon in ⟨gl-⟩, which would have given a different result in Albanian, so the Albanian word comes from Romanian.^[3] DEX and Tiktin only compare the Albanian word, MDA2 gives it as the source, and Wiktionary allows a substrate word akin to it.^[4][2][5][1] The Albanian etymological dictionary DPEWA lists the Albanian word with literature on the Romanian one.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in Moxa's chronicle of 1620.^[2] Dosoftei tells of a man who met a limping lion with a thorn in its paw and pulled the thorn out.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From “thorn, spine” the word came to mean the spines of a hedgehog or porcupine, a splinter under the skin, a fish bone and a sharp point.^[3][4][5] It names several thorny plants: the star thistle, the butcher's broom (ghimpe-pădureț) and others.^[4][3] Figuratively it is a sting or a sorrow kept to oneself, as in a avea un ghimpe la inimă.^[4] It is also the name of two folk dances and their tunes.^[4]

Timeline

• 1620 – in Moxa's chronicle, the first record.^[2]
• 1688 – ghimp and ghimpi in the Bucharest Bible.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A thorn: a hard, sharp outgrowth on the stem or branches of a plant; a synonym of spin.^[4][1]
2. A spine or quill on the body of some animals, especially the hedgehog.^[4]
3. (popular) A thorny plant, a thistle;^[4] ghimpe-pădureț “butcher's broom” (Ruscus aculeatus).^[4]
4. The name of two Romanian folk dances and their tunes.^[4]

Word family

• ghimpos
• ghimpuros
• înghimpa
• înghimpător
• înghimpătură
• ghimpariță

Related words

• Albanian gjemb

Usage notes

Idioms: a sta ca pe ghimpi “to be on tenterhooks” and a avea un ghimpe la inimă “to have a secret grief”.^[4] A separate, regional ghimpe “bullfinch” is a loan from German Gimpel.^[2][5][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. ghimpe
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ghimpe
4. ^ 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. 437
5. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 993
6. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (ed.), Digitales philologisch-etymologisches Wörterbuch des Albanischen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
7. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Proverbs 26:9
8. ^ 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. ghimpe