idee

Forms

idee f (plural idei)^[1] In the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet the word was written идее.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French idée and directly borrowed from Latin idea;^[2][3][4][5] DEX, MDA2 and the neologism dictionaries give both sources, while Ciorănescu names only the French word.^[2][3][4][5] Tiktin gives the Greek and Latin word as the source.^[6] The French noun is itself a learned loan from the philosophical Latin word, which meant “type of things”, recorded in French from 1119.^[7] Latin took it from Ancient Greek ἰδέα (idéa, “appearance, form”), a verbal abstract of ἰδεῖν (ideîn, “to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”).^[8][7][1]

The Aromanian word idee has a separate source: Ciorănescu takes it from Modern Greek ιδέα (idéa).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record of the word is dated 1780; his early quotations have the senses “idea, thought” and “notion, opinion”.^[6] MDA2 dates its first record to 1814, in Dimitrie Țichindeal's book of moral fables.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In 1848 Negulici still listed idee among the new words, defining it as a perception or notion that the mind receives through the senses.^[9] Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 gives the French senses: a notion of something, the sketch of a work, a memory and a false fancy.^[10] The older dictionaries also record idee for memory, as in mi-a ieșit din idee “it slipped my mind”.^[11][12]

Colloquial uses include idee fixă for an obsession, a intra la idei “to start worrying”, and o idee “a tiny bit”, as in o idee mai mare “a touch bigger”.^[2][3] Ciorănescu lists “a small quantity, a drop” as the second main sense of the word.^[4] Compounds after French models appear in the press from the late 1960s: idee-cheie “key idea” in 1967, after French idée clé, and idee-forță in 1970.^[13]

Timeline

• 1780 – first record in Tiktin.^[6]
• 1814 – idee in Țichindeal's moral fables, MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1848 – listed in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[9]
• 1870 – Costinescu gives the French senses with French equivalents.^[10]
• 1967 – idee-cheie “key idea” in the literary press.^[13]
• 1970 – idee-forță in the literary press.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. An idea: any form of logical knowledge; a notion or concept.^[2][3][1]
2. A principle or basic thesis; a way of thinking; an opinion, view or conviction: a (nu) avea idee “to have (no) idea”, Ce idee! “What an idea!” (disapproving).^[2][3]
3. An intention, a plan or project; a suggestion: Am o idee: mergem pe jos. “I have an idea: we'll walk.”^[2][3]
4. The basic conception of a literary, artistic or scientific work.^[2][5]
5. idee fixă: an obsession;^[2][3] (colloquial) worry, fear: a intra la idei “to start to worry”.^[2][3]
6. (colloquial) o idee (de): a small amount, a little: o idee mai lung “a touch longer”.^[2][4]
7. (music) A short phrase that a composer uses as a motif.^[3]

Related words

• French idée
• Latin idea

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 486
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1104
4. ^ a b c d e 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. idee
5. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. idee
6. ^ 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. idée
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ 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, p. s.v. idee
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 522
11. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. idee
12. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 302
13. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. idée