kilometru

Forms

kilometru m (plural kilometri)^[1] Also spelled chilometru.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French kilomètre.^{[4][5][6][7][1]} The French word is a compound of the prefix kilo- and mètre;^[1] Marcu and Maneca compare Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “a thousand”) and μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^[2] Within Romanian it can be analysed as kilo- and metru.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to about 1830.^[6] DLR's oldest quotation is from Heliade, who explains that a thousand metruri make a kilometre.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the unit of a thousand metres.^[5][7] In the 19th century the plural was often kilometre, as in Barasch and Ion Ghica, and the word was also spelled chilometru, the form under which Damé enters it.^[7][8]

Timeline

• c. 1830 – first record.^[6]
• 1870 – in Costinescu's dictionary.^[9]
• 1893–1895 – Damé enters it as chilometru.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kilometre: a unit of length equal to a thousand metres (abbreviation km).^[5][4][1]
2. kilometru pe oră: a unit of speed, a kilometre covered in an hour.^[5][4]
3. kilometru lansat (sports): a cycling or motorcycle race against the clock over one kilometre with a flying start.^[5][4]

Related words

• metru
• kilogram

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. kilometru
3. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. kilometru
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1298
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 572
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. kilometru
7. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. kilometru
8. ^ a b Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. chilometru
9. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 9