Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word lenjerie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1900 Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary, 3rd edition More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
French lingerie
Ultimate origin
French lingerie

Forms

lenjerie f (plural lenjerii)[1] Popular variants are lingerie, lengerie and linjerie: „Îmi trebuia palton și linjerie” “I needed a coat and underwear” (Brăescu).[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French lingerie.[1][3][4][5][2][6] The French word is formed from linge (“linen”) with the suffix -erie.[1] Graur lists it in the family of līnum (“flax”), which Romanian inherited as in, and lenjuri comes from the French noun.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in the 1900 edition of Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary, in the sense “linen, underwear”.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

The word names body and bed linen together.[3][2] In slang it has also meant “a safe”.[6][2]

Timeline

  • 1900 – in Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary.[6]
  • 20th century – linjerie in Brăescu, lingerie in Bacovia.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Body and bed linen; underwear; rufărie.[3][6][1]
  2. (slang) A safe.[6][2]
  • lenjuri
  • in
  • French lingerie

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. lenjerie
  3. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 586
  4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
  5. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria
  6. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1347
  7. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică

Related etymologies

  • cap · also from French
  • dura · also from French
  • pur · also from French
  • pană · also from French
  • pat · also from French
  • masă · also from French
  • lac · also from French
  • primar · also from French
Cite this entry

“Lenjerie.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/lenjerie. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·