infinit

Forms

infinit m or n (feminine singular infinită, masculine plural infiniți, feminine/neuter plural infinite)^[1] As a noun it is neuter, with the plural infinituri, and masculine, with the plural infiniți, in mathematics.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īnfīnītus (“boundless, endless”), also borrowed from French infini, a neologism of the 19th century; the DEX, the MDN and the DN name both, and the MDA2 adds Italian infinito.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Tiktin and the DA give the Latin word alone, and the Lexicon of Negulici (1848) already glosses it with the Latin adjective.^[6][7][8] Wiktionary notes that within Romanian it can be analysed as in- and finit.^[1]

The Latin adjective is formed with the negative prefix in- on fīnītus (“bounded, limited”), the past participle of fīniō (“to limit, to finish”).^[9][1] The French adjective is a remaking of the earlier Old French infinit (1216), which was borrowed from the Latin word.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from Lazăr in 1821.^[6] Negulici's dictionary of new words (1848) explains it as “without beginning or end, without bounds”.^[8] The DA and the MDA2 quote Maiorescu's Critice for the adjective, on the “infinite line of time”.^[7][5] The DA quotes Eminescu for the noun, of worlds “springing from the infinite”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first meant “without end or bounds”, and by extension “very great, immense”, as in bunătate infinită “boundless kindness”.^[11][12][2] Used as an adverb it intensifies an adjective, especially a comparative: infinit de mic “infinitely small”, infinit mai valoros “infinitely more valuable”.^[11][2]

The noun names what has no limit in space or time, and the phrase la infinit means “endlessly, without limit”.^[12][13][2] In philosophy it became the category of the boundlessness of matter in space and time, and in mathematics a masculine noun for a quantity greater than any given one, with infinit mic for an infinitesimal.^[2][3][5]

Timeline

• 1821 – first record, in Lazăr.^[6]
• 1848 – listed among the new words in Negulici's dictionary.^[8]
• 1867 – the adjective in Maiorescu's Critice.^[5][7]
• 1929 – the adjective, the noun and the adverb infinit de mic in Șăineanu's dictionary.^[11]
• 1931 – la infinit “endlessly” in the CADE.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. infinite, boundless: having no end or limits; nesfârșit, nemărginit.^[2][14][1]
2. By extension, very great, immense: O răbdare infinită.^[2][11]
3. (as an adverb) Infinitely, before an adjective, often a comparative: Era infinit mai simplu așa.^[2][15]

Noun

1. (neuter) infinity, the infinite: what has, or seems to have, no limit in space or time; in philosophy, the boundlessness of matter in space and time.^[2][3][1]
2. (mathematics, masculine) A variable quantity that can take values greater than any given quantity.^[2][4]

Related words

• finit
• infinitate
• nesfârșit
• Latin īnfīnītus

Usage notes

La infinit is a fixed adverbial phrase, “endlessly, without limit”.^[2][13] In mathematics infinit mic is an infinitesimal.^[5]

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 j k l DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 506
3. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. infinit
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. infinit
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1135
6. ^ 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. infinit
7. ^ 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. infinit
8. ^ 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. infinit
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. ^ a b c d Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 324
12. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 639
13. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. infinit
14. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. infinit
15. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 516