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
- (third person) To entail, to include, to have as a consequence.[2][1]
- To involve someone in an unpleasant or dishonest affair, a trial and the like; to implicate.[2][7][1]
- (reflexive) To get involved, to commit oneself.[4]
Word family
- implicație
- implicit
- implicare
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 494
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. implica
- ^ 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
- ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. implica
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
- ^ 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
- ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. implica
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Implica.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/implica. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·