leziune

Forms

leziune f (plural leziuni)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French lésion, with Latin laesiō as a second model, a 19th-century neologism of medicine and law.^[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary gives French alone; the DEX, the DLR, MDA2 and the neologism dictionaries name both languages, the multiple etymology usual for such words.^[2][5][6][1] Scriban derived it from Latin alone.^[7] The French word is itself borrowed from the Latin accusative laesiōnem.^[1] The Latin noun belongs to laedō (“to hurt, injure”).^[8]

Scriban compared leșina “to faint”, and Graur traces that verb to Vulgar Latin *laesiōnō, so the old inherited verb and the modern noun go back to the same Latin family.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record to G. M. Antonescu's dictionary of 1862, and the DLR also cites Antonescu first for the medical sense, a change in the structure of a tissue or organ.^[3][4] MDA2 records an old spelling lesiune.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word came with two senses, a wound or damage to the body and a loss suffered in law, and both are still current.^[2][9] In the second half of the 19th century the philosopher Conta wrote of lasting impressions as material changes of the brain, organic lesions, and the medical sense spread with Babeș and the medical literature.^[4] Scriban added a figurative sense "damage, prejudice" beside the wound.^[7] MDA2 lists two legal senses: the loss one party suffers in an onerous contract, and the defect of consent of a minor over fourteen who signs a harmful act alone; an old phrase leziune a maiestății meant lezmaiestate.^[3]

Timeline

• 1862 – first record, in G. M. Antonescu's dictionary.^[3][4]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives the medical sense, a wound, and the legal one, a loss suffered.^[9]
• 1931 – the CADE has “wound” and “damage, harm to someone's interests”, labelled French.^[10]
• 1939 – Scriban defines it as the act of injuring, its result, and figuratively a loss.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lesion or wound: damage to a tissue or organ caused by a blow, an injury or a disease.^[2][3][1]
2. (law) A material loss suffered by one party to a contract.^[2][5]

Related words

• leza
• leșina
• Latin laedō

Usage notes

The ending is said in two syllables, -zi-u-.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 588
3. ^ 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, 1357
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. leziune
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. leziune
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. leziune
7. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 743
8. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 112
9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 362
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. leziune