Etymology and origin of the Romanian word incendiu
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 1832 More words from the 19th century
- Borrowed from
- Latin incendium
- Ultimate origin
- Latin candeō
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
incendiu n (plural incendii)[1]
Etymology
It is a learned borrowing borrowed from Latin incendium (“conflagration”), as DEX, MDA2 and the DA give it.[2][3][4] DEX, DN and Wikționar compare Italian incendio and French incendie,[2][5][6] which Tiktin and MDN name as sources, Tiktin without the Latin word;[7][8] Wiktionary takes it from Italian or French.[1]
The Latin noun is formed from incendō (“to set on fire”) with -ium,[9] and the verb from in- and candeō (“to burn, glow”).[10][11] The Italian word is recorded from the 13th century, the French one from 1605.[12][11] Graur puts the word in the family of candid, candoare and candelabru.[13]
Earliest recorded meaning
Tiktin's first record is of 1832.[7] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 defines it as a fire that consumes a house, a town or a forest.[14]
Semantic evolution
The sense “great, destructive fire” has not changed.[2] Costinescu in 1870 adds a figurative sense, “disorders in a state, great wars”, which CADE still gives in 1931 as “turmoil, revolts, wars”.[15][16] The DA notes the derivatives incendia “to set on fire” and incendiar “arsonist; incendiary”, both formed after French models.[4]
Timeline
- 1832 – first record.[7]
- 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.[14]
- 1870 – Costinescu records the figurative sense “great disorders in a state”.[15]
- 1871 – Laurian and Massim give the plural incendie.[17]
Meanings
Noun
- A large fire that engulfs and destroys a building, a forest etc.; pârjol.[2][18]
- (figurative, dated) Great turmoil in a state: revolts, wars.[15][16]
Word family
- incendia
- incendiar
Related words
- candid
- Latin incendium
Usage notes
The plural is incendii; the 19th-century dictionaries of Laurian and Massim and of Damé give incendie.[2][17][19] Tiktin records an obsolete form incendie of the singular too.[7]
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 498
- ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1124
- ^ 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. incendiu
- ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
- ^ 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. incendiu
- ^ a b c Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 536
- ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ a b Laurian, A. T.; Massim, I. C. (1871–1876), Dictionariulu limbei romane, 2 vols., Bucuresci: Noua Typographia a Laboratoriloru Romani, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. incendiu
- ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. incendiu
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Incendiu.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/incendiu. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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