ironic

Forms

ironic m or n (feminine singular ironică, masculine plural ironici, feminine/neuter plural ironice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French ironique, also borrowed from Late Latin īrōnicus, the sources DEX, the DILF and Marcu give.^[2][3][4] MDA2 names only French, and Tiktin the Greek and Latin word beside French.^[5][6] The Latin adjective is from Ancient Greek εἰρωνικός (eirōnikós, “dissembling”), from εἴρων (eírōn, “one who feigns ignorance”).^[1][7] Wiktionary also notes that it can be analysed as from Romanian ironie + -ic on the surface.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică of 1705, with the adjective in the form ironicesc: „Liliacul ... într-un chip ironicesc să nevoia” “the bat ... strove in an ironic manner”.^[6] The modern form is in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848, “in which there is irony”, and MDA2 dates it to Stamati's dictionary of 1851.^[8][5]

Semantic evolution

It entered as a learned word with the sense it has in French, “containing or expressing irony”, said of words, smiles and tones.^[8][9] By the 19th century it was also said of people fond of mockery.^[10][2] The adverb use, a zâmbi ironic “to smile ironically”, is recorded in Scriban and CADE.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 1705 – ironicesc in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[6]
• 1848 – ironic in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[8]
• 1851 – in Stamati's dictionary.^[5]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses it with German spöttelnd “mocking”.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of people) Fond of irony, given to making fun of others; mocking.^[2][5]
2. Containing or expressing irony; sarcastic, cutting.^[2][5]

Adverb

1. Ironically, mockingly.^[12][14]

Related words

• ironie
• ironiza

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 524
3. ^ 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. ironic
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. ironic
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, 1165
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. irónic
7. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ironic
9. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. ironic
10. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 547
11. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 661
12. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. ironic
13. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 287
14. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. ironic