impresie

Forms

impresie f (plural impresii)^[1] An older variant is impresiune, as in Ghica's „o descriere de călătorie plină de spirit şi de impresiuni juste” “a travel account full of wit and of sound impressions”.^[2][3] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 spells it impressie and impressiune.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French impression, also borrowed from Latin impressiō.^[3][5][6] Tiktin and Wiktionary give French alone, while the Marcu–Maneca dictionary also compares Italian impressione.^[7][1][8]

The French word was borrowed in the 13th century from the Latin noun, which meant pressing and also an effect on the mind, formed on the supine of imprimō (“to press into, imprint”).^[9] Graur lists the word in the family of premō (“to press”), with presiune, expresie, imprima and the native formation împresura.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from 1818, with the sense “impression on the mind”.^[7] MDA2's first record is in Alecu Russo, where the major breaks off his story to dispel a somewhat cheerless impression.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed close to the French one: the effect that things or events leave on the mind, and the images they leave in memory.^[2][3] By the DA's time it formed many phrases: a face impresie “to make an impression”, a face impresia că “to give the impression that”, a avea impresia că “to have the impression, suspect that”, a fi sub impresia “to be under the impression (of an event)”.^[2] Negulici glosses it in 1848 with the native întipărire “imprint”.^[4]

The plural came to mean personal views or remarks on an event, and the old form impresiune has kept the concrete sense of a fingerprint or palm print.^[3][5] In slang the plural can mean airs and graces.^[11]

Timeline

• 1818 – the first record, “impression”.^[7]
• 1848 – impressie, impressiune in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[4]
• 19th century – impresie in Alecu Russo, MDA2's first record.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An impression: the effect that things or events leave on a person's mind; in the plural, the thoughts and images kept in memory: Călătoria i-a lăsat impresii puternice.^[3][5]
2. A feeling or opinion: a avea impresia că “to have the impression that, suspect that”.^[3][5]
3. (plural) Personal views or passing remarks on an event.^[3][5]
4. (in the form impresiune) A fingerprint, a print of the ridges of the fingers, palms or soles.^[3][5]

Related words

• impresiona
• imprima
• expresie
• presiune

Usage notes

Common phrases are a face (o) impresie bună or rea “to make a good or bad impression”, a da impresia că “to give the impression that, seem to”, and a fi sub impresia “to be still under the spell of an event”.^[3][5]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. impresie
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 495
4. ^ 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. impressie
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1120
6. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. impresie
7. ^ 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. impresie
8. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. impresie
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 75
11. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. impresie