instinct

Forms

instinct n (plural instincte)^[1]

Etymology

It is a neologism borrowed from French instinct, with Latin īnstīnctus (“impulse, incitement”) as a second source: DEX, MDA2, MDN and DILF name both.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary, DN, CADE and Tiktin give French alone, and the DA calls it a neologism after French.^{[1][6][7][8][9]} Scriban derived it from Latin directly.^[10]

The French noun is a 16th-century respelling of instincte, a learned loan of 1495 from the Latin noun, which meant “instigation, impulse” and, in Christian Latin, “natural inclination”.^[11] The Latin noun comes from īnstinguō (“to urge on, incite”), formed with in- on a verb meaning “to prick, goad”.^[11] Graur groups it with instiga, distinct and stinge, Romanian words from the same Latin family.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1795.^[8] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 explains it as a natural feeling of physical and moral good and evil, a natural drive without judgement that guides animals in their life.^[13] MDA2 and the DA quote Conachi's poems: „Singur instinctul sau mintea povățuiește” “instinct alone, or the mind, guides”.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

Conachi also used an older form, enstenct.^[8] The word named first an inner, involuntary drive and the spontaneous acts by which living beings preserve and reproduce themselves; by extension it came to mean a natural aptitude or irresistible inclination, as in instinctul muzicii “an instinct for music”.^[9][14][7] The DA quotes instinctul conservației “the instinct of self-preservation” from Alecsandri.^[9] In the 20th century the dictionaries define it in physiological terms, as a complex of innate unconditioned reflexes.^[15][2] A figurative sense “presentiment, intuition” is recorded by MDA2 and NODEX.^[3][16]

The adjective instinctiv was made after French instinctif.^[9]

Timeline

• 1795 – the first record.^[8]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[13]
• 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary adds the sense “presentiment”.^[17]
• 1886 – the second edition of Conachi's poems, MDA2's first record.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. instinct: the complex of innate, unconditioned reflexes proper to a species, which secures its feeding, reproduction and defence.^[2][3][1]
2. A natural impulse, acting without reflection.^[6][4]
3. A natural aptitude, an irresistible inclination towards something.^[7][14]
4. (figurative) A presentiment, intuition.^[3][16]

Word family

• instinctiv

Related words

• instiga
• distinct

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. 512
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1144
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. instinct
5. ^ 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. s.v. instinct
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. instinct
7. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. instinct
8. ^ 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. instinct
9. ^ a b c d e 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. instinct
10. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 646
11. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. instinct
12. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. s.v. stinge
13. ^ 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. instinct
14. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 332
15. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 525
16. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. instinct
17. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 551