lateral

Forms

lateral m or n (feminine singular laterală, masculine plural laterali, feminine/neuter plural laterale)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French latéral, with Latin laterālis (“of the side”) as a second source, the double origin that MDA2, the DLR and NODEX give.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary takes it from French, which borrowed the word from Latin.^[1] Scriban gives only the Latin.^[5]

The Latin adjective is formed on latus (“side, flank”) with the suffix -ālis.^[6][1] The French word is recorded from 1315.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Iordache Golescu's Condica limbii rumânești, a manuscript dictionary of about 1832.^[2][3] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 explains it with lătural “of the side”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant “on the side, of the side”, and 19th-century dictionaries explained it with the older words lătural and lăturalnic.^[8][9][3] MDA2 lists the adapted forms latural and lătural as dated variants.^[2] Costinescu already notes the geometrical use.^[9]

Later senses are figurative and technical: “secondary, of little importance”, arie laterală in geometry and in dialectology, and consoană laterală “lateral consonant” in phonetics.^[10][11] Marcu adds gândire laterală “lateral thinking”.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1832 – the first record, in Iordache Golescu's dictionary.^[2][3]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[8]
• 1870 – in Costinescu's Romanian–French dictionary, with its geometrical use.^[9]
• 1886 – in Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Situated on one of the sides of something; at the edge, away from the centre: ușă laterală “side door”.^[10][2]
2. (figurative) secondary; of lesser importance.^[10][4]
3. (geometry) arie laterală: the lateral surface of a prism, without its bases.^[10]
4. (linguistics) arie laterală: an area at the edge of the territory where a language or dialect is spoken.^[10][11]
5. (phonetics) consoană laterală: a consonant articulated with the air passing on the sides of the tongue, such as /l/.^[10][11]

Related words

• latură
• lăturalnic
• colateral
• French latéral

Usage notes

Scriban rejected lăturalnic as a hybrid word made by the ignorant;^[5][10][11] DEX and Marcu & Maneca use it to explain lateral.^[5][10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 1314
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. lateral
4. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. lateral
5. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 729
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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. lateral
9. ^ a b c Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 19
10. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 578
11. ^ a b c d e Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. lateral
12. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. lateral
13. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 344