infracțiune

Forms

infracțiune f (plural infracțiuni)^[1] A variant infracție is recorded beside it.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French infraction, also borrowed from Latin īnfractiō, a legal term of the 19th century.^[4][2][5][1] Scriban derives it from the Latin word alone, from īnfringō (“to break, infringe”).^[6] The French word, recorded from 1250, is a loan of the same Latin word, which in Late Latin meant “a breaking” and was formed on the supine of the same verb, compounded of in- and frangō (“to break”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 has infracțiune and infracție: the breaking of a law, of a promise, the violation of a treaty, glossing French infraction.^[3] MDA2's first record is Odobescu's writings, in the edition of 1887.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “a breach of a law, an order, a treaty or a rule” is the older one.^[3][2] Scriban notes that breaches of police regulations were called contravențiuni, separating minor offences from infracțiuni.^[6] In modern law the word names an act that is a danger to society, committed with guilt against the criminal law and punished by it.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1870 – infracțiune and infracție in Costinescu's dictionary.^[3]
• 1887 – in Odobescu's writings, MDA2's first record.^[2]
• 1931 – the CADE labels it a legal term: the breach of a law, an ordinance or an agreement.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A criminal offence: an act dangerous to society, committed with guilt in breach of the criminal law and punished by it: a săvârșit o infracțiune.^[4][2][1]
2. A breach of an order, a treaty or a set rule; an infringement.^[2][5]

Related words

• infractor
• French infraction

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 1137
3. ^ a b c d Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 547
4. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 507
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. infracțiune
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 640
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. infraction
8. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. infracțiune