Etymology and origin of the Romanian word liră
liră1 lyre
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- c. 1770
- Borrowed from
- French lyre
- Ultimate origin
- Ancient Greek λύρα
Etymology tree of liră1
From the same root · liră1
Forms
liră f (plural lire)[1]
Etymology
The word for the lyre is borrowed from French lyre, borrowed from Latin lyra, with Italian lira as a further model in DER, MDA2 and the DLR, which also names Modern Greek λύρα (líra).[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary gives French alone, Tiktin Greek and Latin;[1][6][7] Romanian lexicography here records several sources together.[1][6][7]
The Latin word is borrowed from Ancient Greek λύρα (lúra, “lyre”), itself perhaps a loanword in Greek.[8][9] French took the Latin word in 1155 with the spelling ⟨lire⟩, respelt ⟨lyre⟩ in 1548.[9]
Earliest recorded meaning
Tiktin dates the first record to about 1770;[6][4][5] MDA2's first record is a Romanian translation of Delaporte's travel compendium, in manuscript from 1785, where people pass the time with songs „atât din gură, cât și din liră” “both with the voice and with the lyre”.[6][4][5] The DLR also refers to Dimitrie Cantemir.[5]
Semantic evolution
The word named the ancient stringed instrument, and Romanian translators glossed it for their readers: o liră (adică o muzică) “a lyre (that is, a musical instrument)” and instrument ca o alăută “an instrument like a lute” (1840).[5] With the Romantic poets it became the symbol of poetry and poetic talent, as in Eminescu's Ah! de câte ori voit-am / Ca să spânzur lira-n cui “Ah, how often have I wanted to hang my lyre on a nail”.[10][11] Later senses come from the shape of the instrument: the constellation Lyra, a decorative motif of Biedermeier furniture, and technical devices.[4][7] The adjective liric and the noun lirism were borrowed from French.[3]
Timeline
- c. 1770 – the first record Tiktin gives.[6]
- 1785 – liră in the Romanian translation of Delaporte's travels.[4][5]
- 1840 – glossed as an instrument like a lute.[5]
- 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary has the figurative a lua lira “to start writing verse” and the constellation.[12]
Meanings
Noun
- A lyre: an ancient stringed instrument with two curved arms and a sound box, used to accompany the recitation of poems.[2][4][1]
- (figurative) A symbol of poetic talent, inspiration and creation, or of poetry itself.[2][4]
- (astronomy; with the article: Lira) The constellation Lyra of the northern sky, popularly called Ciobanul-cu-Oile.[2][4]
- liră de dilatație: an expansion loop, a lyre-shaped bend that lets a pipe carrying hot fluids expand without damage.[2][4]
Word family
- liric
- lirism
liră2 pound (currency)
Etymology tree of liră2
From the same root · liră2
Forms
liră f (plural lire)[1]
Etymology
The word for the currency is borrowed from Italian lira, borrowed in the 19th century.[2][3][4][5] Tiktin compares Turkish lira, and Șăineanu counted it among the words of the Oriental layer, as the name of the Turkish gold coin of 100 piastres;[6][13][14] Turkish itself took the word from Italian.[6][13][14] The same word is found south of the Danube: Aromanian liră and Megleno-Romanian liră, which Capidan derives from Turkish.[3][15]
The Italian word continues Latin lībra (“pound (weight); scales”) through intermediate Italian forms: its first meaning was the value of a pound's weight of silver.[16][17] Romanian also has the doublet livră, from French livre.[3][18]
Earliest recorded meaning
MDA2's first record is from Dinicu Golescu's Adunare de pilde of 1826, where a yearly income of „o mie cinci sute de lire” “one thousand five hundred lire” is set aside;[4][5][6] Tiktin dates it from 1827.[4][5][6]
Semantic evolution
In the 19th century the word mostly named the Turkish gold lira, which circulated widely in Wallachia and was worth 22 new lei.[13][11] Writers speak of lire turcești and lira otomană (Caragiale, Slavici, Vlahuță), while liră italiană and liră sterlină named the Italian and British coins.[5][10] Folk speech changed the word by metathesis to rilă and râlă, found in folk songs: „Câte o rilă le dădea” “he gave each of them a lira”.[11][13][4] Today it names the currencies of Turkey and some other countries, and liră sterlină the pound sterling.[2]
Timeline
- 1826 – lire in Dinicu Golescu's Adunare de pilde, the first record.[4][5]
- 1827 – the first record Tiktin gives.[6]
- 1900 – Șăineanu describes the Turkish lira, popularly rilă, current in Wallachia.[13]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
- livră
- litră
Usage notes
The plural of both words is lire.[2] Some dictionaries, such as Tiktin, number the currency first and the instrument second.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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. 595
- ^ a b c d e 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. liră
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1378
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. liră
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. liră
- ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. liră
- ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 770
- ^ 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. liră
- ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 41
- ^ a b c d e Șăineanu, Lazăr (1900), Influența orientală asupra limbei și culturei române, vol. I: Introducerea; vol. II.1: Vorbele populare; vol. II.2: Vorbele istorice, literare, Indice, București: Socec, p. II.1, 238
- ^ a b Tietze, Andreas (2002–2018), Tarihi ve Etimolojik Türkiye Türkçesi Lugatı, Istanbul: Simurg; Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, p. 543
- ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 171
- ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
- ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
- ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 56
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Liră.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/lir%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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