habar

Forms

habar n (uncountable)^[1] Tiktin records it without a plural;^[2][3] MDA2 gives the plural habaruri.^[2][3] A variant haber occurs in Wallachia: „Haber n-am!” “I don't care!” (Ispirescu); Tiktin also notes a regional abar.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish خبر (haber), colloquially pronounced Turkish habar, a word of the Ottoman layer.^{[5][2][6][7][1]} The Turkish word is from Arabic خَبَر (ḵabar, “news, report, knowledge”), a verbal noun of the root that gives خَبَرَ (ḵabara, “to try, to learn by experience”).^[1][8]

Neighbouring languages borrowed the same Turkish word: Modern Greek χαμπάρι (chabári), Albanian haber, Bulgarian хабер (haber) and Serbo-Croatian haber.^[5][9][10] It is found south of the Danube too: Aromanian hăbare and Megleno-Romanian aber, both “news”.^[5][11][12] For the old sense “affair”, MDA2 compares Russian хабар (xabar) from Dal's dictionary, a dialect word that the Academy dictionary glosses “profit”.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1793.^[2] The oldest senses are those of the Turkish word, “news, tidings, knowledge”, mostly in the negative a nu avea habar “to have no news of, know nothing about”: Alecsandri has „nici habar să-l am” “without my having the least idea”.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

From “news” the word passed to “concern, care”: fără habar “without a care”, and a nu avea habar de ceva “not to care about something”, as in Pann's „Eu leșin, mor pentru tine Și tu habar n-ai de mine” “I faint, I die for you, and you don't care about me”.^[2][4] A third sense, “affair, business”, survives regionally in Cum ți-e habarul? “How are things?”.^[4][6]

In the modern language the noun is used only in these phrases, and habar n-am “I have no idea” is the commonest.^[6][1]

Timeline

• 1793 – the first record.^[2]
• 1875 – Alecsandri's theatre, MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1893 – Damé's dictionary has habar n-am “I don't care”.^[13]
• 1939 – Scriban notes Cum ți-e habaru? as rare.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (only in phrases) A nu avea habar (de/despre ceva): to have no idea about something, to know nothing of it.^[6][1]
2. A nu avea habar: not to care, not to worry about something.^[6][14]
3. (regional) Cum (ți-)e habarul?: how are you getting on, how are things?^[6][1]
4. (dated) News; concern, care; affair, business.^[3][15]

Related words

• Aromanian hăbare
• Modern Greek χαμπάρι (chabári)

Usage notes

Outside these phrases the word is not used;^[6][16] habar n-am “I have no idea” is the everyday form.^[6][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. habar
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1035
4. ^ a b c d e 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. habar
5. ^ a b c 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. habar
6. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 456
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 584
8. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan, Nişanyan Sözlük: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojisi (online edition)
9. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (ed.), Digitales philologisch-etymologisches Wörterbuch des Albanischen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
10. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
11. ^ 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
12. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 7
13. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. habar
14. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. habar
15. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. habar
16. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. habar