identifica

Forms

identifica (present identific, third-person singular identifică, past participle identificat), 1st conjugation^[1][2] MDA2 records a popular variant indentifica, and Negulici's example of 1848 also spells it indentifica.^[3][4] In the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet it was written идентифика.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French identifier, with identificō named beside it by DEX, MDN and Tiktin.^[2][5][6][1] MDA2 and DN give only the French verb.^[3][7] Wiktionary notes that it also reads as identic with the suffix -ifica.^[1]

The French verb was borrowed in 1610 from the Scholastic Latin one, which meant “to make alike”, was recorded around 1300 in England and compounded of Latin idem (“the same”) and faciō (“to make”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from 1835.^[6] In 1848 Negulici defined it as grasping two things under one idea or nature, and as merging one's being with another's, with the example that a sovereign is all-powerful when he identifies himself with the nation.^[4] MDA2's first record is Hasdeu's Istoria critică a românilor of 1875.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were philosophical: to treat two things as identical, and reflexively to become one with someone else.^[4][9] Șăineanu's example in 1929 is the actor who must identify with his character.^[10] The everyday sense, establishing who a person is or what a thing is, comes first in DLRLC and DEX.^[11][2] In French this sense dates from 1784 and the official sense, recognising someone by civil status, from the late 19th century.^[8] NODEX adds identifying something as belonging to a class or species, such as a planet.^[12]

Timeline

• 1835 – first record, according to Tiktin.^[6]
• 1848 – identificare in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[4]
• 1875 – in Hasdeu's Istoria critică a românilor.^[3]
• 1929 – a se identifica with a stage character in Șăineanu's dictionary.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To identify: to establish who a person is or what a thing is; to recognize.^[2][3]
2. (transitive) To consider different notions, objects or beings as identical.^[2][5]
3. (transitive) To determine, from its features, the class or species something belongs to: a identifica o plantă “to identify a plant”.^[12]
4. (reflexive, with cu) To put oneself fully in someone's place, feel or act as they would; to become one with something.^[2][3]

Word family

• identificare
• identificabil

Related words

• identic
• identitate
• French identifier

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 486
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, 1104
4. ^ a b c d 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. identifica
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. identifica
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. identifica
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. identifica
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. identifica
10. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 302
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 483
12. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. identifica