logic

Forms

logic m or n (feminine singular logică, masculine plural logici, feminine/neuter plural logice)^[1]

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from French logique, with German logisch and Italian logico as further models, as the DLR gives it;^[2] MDA2 names Latin logicus, French and German,^[3] and Wiktionary and the dictionary of neologisms name French alone.^[1][4] Tiktin treats it as formed beside the noun logică, old loghică.^[5] All go back to Ancient Greek λογικός (logikós, “of speech; of reason”), from λόγος (lógos, “speech, reason”) and the suffix -ικός (-ikós).^[1][6]

An older noun meaning “logician”, now obsolete, came from Modern Greek λογικός (logikós), with the old form loghic.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from Dosoftei's Lives of the Saints (1683), in the old form loghicesc: „cu loghicești răspunsuri” “with logical answers”.^[5] In the modern form MDA2 and the DLR start with Vaillant's Romanian–French vocabulary of 1839,^[3][2] and a magazine of 1847 already speaks of a greșeală logică “logical error”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The Greek-type loghicesc of Dosoftei and Cantemir gave way to the French-type logic in the 19th century.^[5] Negulici (1848) records the adverb, “according to logic, according to the rules of logic”,^[7] and the dictionaries of Costinescu, Antonescu and Barcianu have the adjective.^[8][9][10] Maiorescu and Eminescu used it for reasoning and the chain of ideas.^[2] Later it was applied to anything that seems reasonable or natural.^[2]

Technical phrases came in the 20th century: circuit logic “logic circuit” in computers and schemă logică “flow chart”.^[11][3] In colloquial speech the word is also used on its own as an interjection, “obviously, of course”.^[1]

Timeline

• 1683 – loghicești “logical” in Dosoftei's Lives of the Saints.^[5]
• 1757 – the noun logic “logician”, from Greek, in Eustatievici's grammar.^[3]
• 1839 – the adjective in Vaillant's vocabulary.^[3][2]
• 1847 – greșeală logică “logical error”.^[2]
• 1848 – the adverb in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. In accordance with the rules of logic; rational, sound, well-founded: o concluzie logică “a logical conclusion”.^[12][3][1]
2. Relating to logic or belonging to it.^[3]
3. (of reasoning) Coherent, consistent;^[12][13] cap logic “a logical mind, a person who thinks clearly”.^[12][13]
4. (physics, computing) In circuit logic “logic circuit”, a circuit performing elementary logical operations;^[12][11] schemă logică “flow chart”.^[12][11]
5. (as an adverb) Logically: a vorbi logic.^[6][3]

Interjection

1. (colloquial) Obviously, of course.^[1]

Word family

• nelogic

Related words

• logică

Usage notes

The obsolete noun logic (plural logici, old loghic) meant “logician”: Laurian wrote that “some logicians distinguish two syntheses”.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. logic
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1387
4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. logic
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. logic
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 755
7. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. logic
8. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 45
9. ^ Antonescu, G. M. (1875), Dictionariu romanu-francesu, Bucuresci: Typografia Curții (Lucrători Associați), p. 166
10. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 356
11. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. logic
12. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 599
13. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 777