grânar

Forms

grânar n (plural grânare)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian grâne + -ar, from the plural of grâu, according to DEX, MDA2 and NODEX.^[2][3][4] The DA divides the word: the masculine, for the grain merchant, is a Romanian agent noun in -ar, while the neuter, for the granary, is a neologism after Latin grānārium (“granary”).^[5] Tiktin derives it from the same noun and compares French grenier for the storehouse sense.^[6]

Candrea and Densusianu and the REW take the neuter straight from the Latin noun, with Romance cognates such as Italian granaio, Catalan graner and Spanish granero.^[7] Wiktionary leaves both views open.^[1] The Latin word is made from grānum (“grain”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Klein's dictionary, dated 1806.^[6] The older sense, now out of use, is the grain merchant; the granary is recorded in Ollănescu's translation of Horace, where Sardinia is one of the granaries of Rome.^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The merchant sense is the one of the 19th-century dictionaries: Costinescu (1870) has grânar only as a grain dealer.^[9] Delavrancea uses it for the carters who bring grain back from the villages, mills and ports.^[6][10] The building sense then gave a figurative one, a land that feeds others with its grain;^[11][2] Scriban's example calls Wallachia the granary of Constantinople.^[11][2]

Timeline

• 1806 – grânar in Klein's dictionary, the first record.^[6]
• 1870 – grânar “grain merchant” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[9]
• 1939 – Scriban gives the figurative sense “fertile land”.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A granary, a storehouse for grain; a hambar or jitniță.^[2][3][1]
2. (figurative) A region or country that grows grain in plenty and supplies others with it.^[2][3]
3. (dated; masculine) A grain merchant.^[2][3]

Related words

• grâu

Usage notes

The two senses have different plurals: grânare (neuter) for the storehouse and the region, grânari (masculine) for the merchants.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c 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. 449
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1019
4. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. grânar
5. ^ a b 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. grânar
6. ^ 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. grânár
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. granarium
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 497
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. grînar
11. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 577