indian

Forms

indian m or n (feminine singular indiană, masculine plural indieni, feminine/neuter plural indiene)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French indien, according to DEX, MDA2, MDN and Wiktionary.^[2][3][4][1] Tiktin names Latin indicus, or its Greek model, beside French,^[5] and Wiktionary also analyses it as from Romanian India + -an.^[1] Ciorănescu derives it from India and dates it to the 19th century,^[6] while the DA treats it as a neologism fitted to the Romanian words of origin in -ean.^[7] The French word is a learned loan of the 13th century from Late Latin Indianus, formed on Latin India, itself from Greek.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the word to 1648, in a text of Udriște Năsturel that Gaster printed: „De întoarcerea Indienilor” “of the conversion of the Indians”, about the apostle Thomas.^[5][7][3] The same text has the adjective indienesc “Indian”, now obsolete.^[7][6]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the people of India and what belongs to them.^[7][5] Because America was first called the West Indies, after Columbus reached it while looking for the way to India, the word was also applied to the native peoples of America; the DA calls this use improper.^[7] French had used indien for the natives of America since 1505.^[8] DEX and MDA2 record both senses, and MDA2 adds limbi indiene for the Indo-European languages of India.^[2][3]

The older adjective indienesc was replaced by indian and by indic, which the DA explains as modelled on German indisch;^[7][6] Eminescu writes of „Kamadeva, zeul indic”.^[7][6] The feminine indiană also names a fine cotton cloth, first imported from India, and a cream-filled cake glazed with chocolate, after German Indianerkrapfen.^[7][6]

Timeline

• 1648 – Indienilor “of the Indians” and the adjective indienesc in a text of Udriște Năsturel.^[5][7]
• 1688 – indianul in the Bucharest Bible, in the first book of the Maccabees.^[9]
• 1893–1895 – indian “Indian” in Damé's dictionary.^[10]
• 1913 – the DA records indiană for a cotton fabric and a cake.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. An Indian: a person of the population of India or from there.^[2][3][1]
2. (improperly) A member of the native peoples of the Americas; an Amerindian.^[2][3][1]

Adjective

1. Belonging to or concerning India or its people; indic.^[2][3]
2. (improperly) Belonging to or concerning the native peoples of the Americas.^[2][3]
3. (as a feminine noun) The Indian language.^[2]

Word family

• indienesc
• indiană
• indiancă
• indienește

Related words

• India
• French indien

Usage notes

DEX has a separate headword indian¹, a neuter noun for a fine cotton fabric, bleached, dyed or printed, used for linen, with the form indiană,^[2] and is from French indienne.^[2][11][12] MDA2 dates it only from the DA.^[3] The feminine of the noun is indiană or indiancă.^[1][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 501
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1129
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. indian
5. ^ 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. indian
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. indian
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. indian
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. indien
9. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. 1 Maccabees 6:37
10. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. 1, s.v. indian
11. ^ 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. 1, s.v. indian1
12. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. indian