latin

Forms

latin m or n (feminine singular latină, masculine plural latini, feminine/neuter plural latine)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin latīnus (“of Latium, Latin”).^[2][3][1] DEX names French latin as a second source, and MDA2 adds Italian latino;^[4][5][6] Tiktin calls the etymology multiple.^[4][5][6] The Latin adjective is derived from the region name Latium with the suffix -īnus.^[1]

An older popular form, stressed on the first syllable and also written with ⟨e⟩, meant “Catholic” and then “heretic, unbeliever”;^[6] Tiktin compares the stress of Serbo-Croatian latin and Hungarian latin.^[6] Ciorănescu treats that form under its own headword letin, taken from the Hungarian and Serbian words, and also latină “foreign lands”, as doublets of this one.^[2] MDA2 keeps all these senses under one headword.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Coresi's Pravila of about 1560.^[6] MDA2 cites Grigore Ureche's chronicle.^[5] Ciorănescu dates the borrowing to the 17th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the old texts the word names the Latins and, by extension, the Romans or Western Christians: the preface of the Bucharest Bible of 1688 speaks of „tălmăcitorii latinilor şi slovenilor” “the translators of the Latins and the Slavs”.^[3] In popular use it meant “Catholic”, “Greek Catholic”, “heathen” and “stranger”, and by a pejorative extension a treacherous or greedy person.^[5][6] The derivatives meaning “Latin language” and “in Latin” date from the 17th century, and those for “Latinism”, “Latinist” and “to Latinize” from the 19th.^[2]

From the 19th century the adjective also meant “Romance”, of the peoples whose languages come from Latin.^[7][5] A technical sense is the triangular lateen sail, velă latină.^[8][5]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – Coresi's Pravila, the first record.^[6]
• c. 1642-1647 – Grigore Ureche's chronicle, MDA2's first record.^[5]
• 17th century – the derivatives latinesc, latinește and latinie.^[2]
• 1688 – „tălmăcitorii latinilor” in the preface of the Bucharest Bible.^[3]
• 19th century – latinism, latinist, latinitate and latiniza.^[2]
• 1825 – Latinu glossed Latin latinus and German Lateiner in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (in the plural) The Latins, the Indo-European people settled in Latium; a member of this people.^[4][5]
2. (regional, dated) A Catholic or Greek Catholic; a heathen; a stranger.^[5][6]

Adjective

1. Of Latium or the Latins; of the language and literature of the Romans.^[4] Limba latină, or latina, is the Latin language.^[4]
2. Romance: of the peoples whose languages come from Latin.^[7][5]
3. (nautical) Velă latină: a lateen sail.^[8][5]

Word family

• latinesc
• latinește
• latinie
• latinism
• latinist
• latinitate
• latiniza

Related words

• letin
• Latin latīnus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. latin
3. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. latin
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 578
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1314
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. latin
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 729
8. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. latin
9. ^ Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 344