lărgi

Forms

lărgi (third-person singular present lărgește, past participle lărgit), 4th conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian larg (“wide”) + -i.^[2][3][4][5] larg continues Latin largus (“spacious, wide”).^[6] Pușcariu (article 943) and Candrea–Densusianu (951) derive the verb instead from Vulgar Latin *largiō, for Latin largior (“to give generously”);^[5][7] Ciorănescu reports this view.^[5][7] Șăineanu and CADE also derive it from the Latin verb.^[8][9] Wiktionary gives both explanations.^[1]

The verb survives south of the Danube as Aromanian lãrdzescu, which Pascu derives from the Latin verb, and Istro-Romanian has lărjesc.^[10][11][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the participle lărgit in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century, at Psalm 118:32.^[12][4] Tiktin's first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană, Psalm 17:23.^[13] In these texts the verb means to make or become wide.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant to make or become wider, often opposed to strâmta and îngusta “to narrow”, and to open; the 1688 Bible has „Lărgeaște gura ta și voi împlea pre ea” “open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it”, and Deuteronomy's enlarging of borders.^[3][4][13] Old phrases include a lărgi gura asupra cuiva “to scold someone” and a-și lărgi mațele “to become very greedy”, which Neculce uses of Duca Vodă.^[4][13] Figurative senses followed: to give scope to, extend (trade, one's horizon), and reflexively to spread.^[2][14]

Timeline

• c. 1500–1520 – lărgit in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, Psalm 118:32, the first record.^[12][4]
• c. 1573–1578 – in the Psaltirea Scheiană, Psalm 17:23.^[13][15]
• 1620 – the growth of the Roman empire, se lărgia pre lume, in Moxa's chronicle.^[3]
• 1649 – lărgesc in Mardarie's Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[16]
• 1688 – lărgeaște gura ta in the Bucharest Bible, Psalm 80:8.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive and reflexive) To make or become wider; to widen, broaden, stretch.^[2][1]
2. (transitive, figurative) To give scope to; to extend, expand.^[2][14]
3. (reflexive, figurative) To spread, disperse.^[2]

Word family

• lărgire
• lărgitor

Related words

• lărgime
• lăți
• Aromanian lãrdzescu

Usage notes

A-și lărgi orizontul means to deepen one's knowledge.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 580
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. lărgi
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, 1324
5. ^ a b c d 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. larg
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4912
7. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. lărgi
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 356
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. lărgi
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 621
11. ^ 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, 106
12. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 118:32
13. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. lărgí
14. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. lărgi
15. ^ Candrea, I.-A. (1916), Psaltirea Scheiană comparată cu celelalte psaltiri din sec. XVI și XVII traduse din slavonește, vol. II: Glosarele, București: Socec, p. 326
16. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. lărgesc