Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word implica

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1848 Negulici's dictionary More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
French impliquer
Ultimate origin
Latin implicō

Pronunciation

  • /im.pliˈka/[1]

Forms

implica (third-person singular present implică, past participle implicat, third-person subjunctive implice) 1st conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French impliquer, a neologism of the 19th century, with Latin implicō as a second model.[2][3][4][1][5] The neologism dictionaries add Italian implicare, and MDA2 names only French and Italian.[6][7] The Latin verb meant “to fold in, wrap, entangle”, from in- and plicō (“to fold”).[8][1][9]

French borrowed its verb from Latin in 1377, while the same Latin verb had given employer (“to use”) by inheritance.[10] Graur sets amploaiat, from employé, in the same Latin family.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record in these sources is Negulici's dictionary of neologisms (1848), with the old infinitive implicare: to insert, to include, to entangle someone in an accusation.[12] MDA2 cites it only from the penal code of the Socialist Republic.[7]

Semantic evolution

Negulici's two senses, “to contain” and “to draw someone into an accusation”, are still the two main ones.[12][2] The DA quotes Maiorescu for the sense “to mix up in an affair”.[8] The reflexive a se implica “to get involved, to commit oneself” is recorded in the recent dictionaries.[4] The sense “to contain” is now old.[7]

Timeline

  • 1848 – implicare in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.[12]
  • 1931 – implica “to involve; to entail” in CADE.[13]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (third person) To entail, to include, to have as a consequence.[2][1]
  2. To involve someone in an unpleasant or dishonest affair, a trial and the like; to implicate.[2][7][1]
  3. (reflexive) To get involved, to commit oneself.[4]

Word family

  • implicație
  • implicit
  • implicare

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 494
  3. ^ 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. implica
  4. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. implica
  5. ^ 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. implica
  6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. implica
  7. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1118
  8. ^ 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. implica
  9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
  12. ^ a b c 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. implicare
  13. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. implica

Related etymologies

  • cap · also from French
  • dura · also from French
  • pur · also from French
  • pană · also from French
  • pat · also from French
  • masă · also from French
  • lac · also from French
  • primar · also from French
Cite this entry

“Implica.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/implica. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·