lăptar

Forms

lăptar m (plural lăptari)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian lapte (“milk”) + -ar, the agent suffix of trade names.^[2][3][4] lapte continues Latin lac (“milk”).^[5] MDA2 gives the same formation but compares Latin lactārius (“of milk”), and Scriban allows either source.^[6][7] Candrea–Densusianu, Șăineanu and CADE take the word straight from the Latin adjective, comparing Italian lattaio, French laitier, Spanish lechero and Portuguese leiteiro.^[8][9][10] Wiktionary gives both explanations.^[1]

The same word is Aromanian lãptar “milkman”, which Papahagi and Pascu derive from the Latin adjective.^[11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin and MDA2 date the word to 1818, in Budai-Deleanu's Romanian–German lexicon, as a man who sells milk.^[4][6] An early DLR quotation, from Golescu, says that the milkmen of Paris thicken milk with boiled starch in place of cream.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The core sense, a man who prepares or sells milk, came to name the milkman who brings milk to town or delivers it to the door, and the man who collects milk.^[6][2][13] Regionally it also names a person who checks the quality of milk.^[6] Used in the feminine and plural, lăptare describes ewes and cows that give much milk.^[6] Its older synonym is laptagiu, and Moldavia also has lăpțer; the feminine is lăptăreasă, in northern Moldavia lăptăriță.^[6][4][7]

Timeline

• 1818 – in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon, the first record.^[4][6]
• 1913 – the DA records a regional lăptar equal to lăptaș.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A milkman: a man who sells or collects milk.^[2][1]
2. A man who brings milk to town to sell, or delivers dairy products to the door.^[13][6]
3. (regional) A person who checks the quality of milk.^[6]

Related words

• lăptare
• lapte
• Aromanian lãptar

Usage notes

MDA2 has a second, regional lăptar, recorded by the DA in 1913 as a variant of lăptaș; the DLR derives it from lăptaș with a change of suffix.^[6][3]

References

1. ^ a b c 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. 580
3. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. lăptar
4. ^ 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. lăptár
5. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. lapte
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1323
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 732
8. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. lăptar
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 356
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. lăptar
11. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 621
12. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 105
13. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 730