insignă

Forms

insignă f (plural insigne)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French insigne, borrowed from Latin īnsigne, as DEX gives it;^[2][3] MDA2 names Latin īnsignia, the plural, and French.^[4] The Academy dictionary calls it a neologism after French, pointing also to the Latin plural.^[5] Wiktionary gives only French.^[1] French had borrowed its word from the Latin plural in 1484; the Latin word is formed of in- and signum (“mark, sign”).^[6] Scriban instead derived it from French enseigne influenced by the Latin noun for “sign”, his own view.^[7]

Gabinschi places it in one family with însemn, the older word from the same Latin root.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, before 1834 in the Uricariul, has the plural insigniile for the insignia of a ruling prince set on two pedestals.^[4][5] The Academy dictionary describes it as mostly plural, a distinctive mark of a rank, office or dignity.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The old sense, the emblems of a dignity, was used mostly in the plural insignii.^[5] Writers of the 19th century also used a Romanianized form însemn in this sense, in Alecsandri and Odobescu.^[5] Scriban still defines the word as an emblem of royalty such as the sceptre and crown.^[7] The modern sense, a small badge worn on the chest or cap to show membership of an organization or a club, is the only one in DEX and DLRLC.^[2][9]

Timeline

• before 1834 – insigniile domnești in the Uricariul.^[4][5]
• 1939 – Scriban defines it as an emblem of royalty.^[7]
• 1955–1957 – DLRLC defines it as a badge of membership.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A badge: a small object worn on the chest or cap, whose image or lettering shows that the wearer belongs to an organization or a club.^[2][4]
2. (dated, mostly plural) The insignia of a rank or dignity.^[5][7]

Related words

• însemn
• semn

Usage notes

The plural is insigne; the old plural insignii and an obsolete masculine insigniu are recorded in the Academy dictionary.^[5][4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 511
3. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. insignă
4. ^ 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, 1142
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. insignă
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. insigne
7. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 645
8. ^ Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 117
9. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 523