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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word golf

golf1 golf (the game)

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
English golf
Ultimate origin
English golf
Etymology tree of golf1
inherited borrowed derived
English golf
Romanian golf
From the same root · golf1
English golfer ← golf

Forms

golf n (uncountable)[1]

Etymology

The word for the game of golf is borrowed from English golf and French golf, the two sources that DEX, DILF and the neologism dictionaries name.[2][3][4] The DLRM puts English first, with French as the intermediary.[5] MDA2 gives only English, and Wiktionary too.[6][1] MDA2 describes the game as of Scottish origin.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 takes its first record from the manuscript files of the Academy dictionary, without a date.[6] The dictionaries of the 1950s record it as a sport played with a ball and a special club, and the phrase pantaloni golf for wide sports trousers gathered below the knee.[7][5]

Semantic evolution

Besides the game itself, the word names, in the phrase pantaloni golf, the loose knickerbockers once worn for the sport.[2][3] The neologism dictionary also records golf de cuvinte, a word game in which one passes from word to word by changing one letter at a time, and a cloth for women's dressing gowns.[4]

Timeline

  • 1955–1957 – in the DLRLC, the game and pantaloni golf.[7]
  • 1986 – golf de cuvinte, a word game, in the dictionary of neologisms.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. golf: a game for two or four players in which a small hard ball is struck with a crosă into a series of holes on a special course.[2][6]
  2. In the phrase pantaloni golf: wide knickerbockers, gathered tightly below the knee.[2][3]

golf2 gulf

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1694
Borrowed from
French golfe
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κόλπος

Forms

golf n (plural golfuri)[1]

Etymology

The word for a gulf is borrowed from French golfe, as DEX, DILF, the neologism dictionaries and Wiktionary give it.[2][3][8][1] Tiktin derives it from Italian golfo.[9] MDA2 names the French word together with German Golf and the Italian one.[6] Scriban gives the French and the Italian word.[10] French golfe was itself borrowed from Italian, which comes from Late Latin colfus, an altered form of Latin colpus, from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos, “fold, hollow; gulf”).[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1694.[9] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 has golf as a neologism, defined as a tongue of sea that reaches into the land.[12] MDA2's first record is from Grigore Alexandrescu's poems of 1863: „Urmează-mi în ocolul acestor golfuri line” “follow me round these quiet gulfs”.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed the geographical one: part of an ocean, a sea or a lake that reaches into the land.[2][13] A technical sense, a widened part of a ship, is recorded in the neologism dictionary.[8] MDA2 gives regional equivalents, adâncătură and sân-de-mare.[6]

Timeline

  • 1694 – the first record, after Tiktin.[9]
  • 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.[12]
  • 1863 – golfuri in Grigore Alexandrescu's poems.[6]
  • 1870 – Costinescu glosses it with French golfe.[14]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A gulf or bay: part of an ocean, a sea or a lake that reaches into the land through a wide opening: Golful Mexic “the Gulf of Mexico”.[2][6]
  2. (nautical) A widened part of a ship.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 444
  3. ^ a b c d Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. golf
  4. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. golf
  5. ^ a b Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. golf
  6. ^ 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, 1009
  7. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 399
  8. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. golf
  9. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. golf
  10. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 567
  11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
  13. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. golf
  14. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 493

Related etymologies

  • script · also from English
  • dolar · also from English
  • gol · also from English
  • club · also from English
  • cod · also from English
  • meci · also from English
  • bob · also from English
  • șerif · also from English
Cite this entry

“Golf.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/golf. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·