limpede

Forms

limpede m or f or n (plural limpezi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin limpidus (“clear, transparent”).^{[2][3][4][1][5][6]} The singular ending ⟨-e⟩ is a change of declension: Candrea and Densusianu and the DLR explain it from the plural limpezi, on the model of verde and its plural ⟨verzi⟩.^[7][8][1] The word survives in Aromanian limbid.^[2][9] Its Romance cognates include Sardinian limpiu and Spanish limpio.^[2][5]

The origin of the Latin word is unclear.^[10][1] De Vaan considers it possibly a dialectal, Sabellic form from a verb meaning “to be liquid”, derived from the earlier recorded limpor (“a clear liquid”).^[10] Wiktionary also gives the traditional link with Ancient Greek λάμπω (lámpō, “to shine”).^[1] The literary limpid is a later borrowing of the same Latin word.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Coresi's Psalter of 1570, in Psalm 106:29, where the storm calms and the sky clears; the Psaltirea Scheiană has the same verse.^[11][12] Coresi's Evanghelie cu învățătură of 1581 has it of water: „la această apă limpede și spăsitoare” “to this clear and saving water”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Clear water and wine are the first sense, opposed to tulbure “muddy”.^[8][13] From liquids the word passed to clear, cloudless weather and sky, recorded in a calendar of 1814.^[13][4] A clear voice or sound, a clear mind, and clear, easily understood ideas followed; as a figure, a pure conscience.^[4][12] Used as an adverb it means “clearly, plainly”.^[12][14] Old phrases such as a sta în limpede “to clear up” and a chema la limpede “to call to open combat” have gone out of use.^[12]

Timeline

• 1570 – Coresi's Psalter, Psalm 106:29, the first record.^[11]
• 1581 – apă limpede “clear water” in Coresi's Evanghelie cu învățătură.^[3][8]
• 1620 – the turtle-dove that never drinks clear water.^[8]
• 1649 – Mardarie's lexicon uses it to gloss Slavonic words.^[15]
• 1688 – untdelemn... curat și limpede “pure and clear oil” in the Bucharest Bible, Leviticus 24:2.^[12]
• 1814 – of fair weather, in a calendar.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of liquids: clear, pure and transparent.^[4][1]
2. (figurative) Of a soul or conscience: honest, pure.^[4]
3. Of the sky or weather: cloudless, bright.^[4][1]
4. Of eyes or a look: pure, bright.^[4]
5. Of sounds and voices: distinct, ringing.^[4]
6. Of the mind: seeing and explaining things clearly, lucid.^[4]
7. Of ideas or expression: easy to understand, explicit; of facts: certain, evident.^[4][1]

Word family

• limpezi
• limpezime
• limpezeală
• limpejor
• limpezitor

Related words

• limpid
• Aromanian limbid
• Latin limpidus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. limpede
3. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1370
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 592
5. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 84
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5056
7. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. limpede
8. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. limpede
9. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 629
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ 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 106:29
12. ^ 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. limpede
13. ^ a b c Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. limpede
14. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 747
15. ^ 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. limpede