mâner

Forms

mâner n (plural mânere)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian mână (“hand”) + -er.^[2][3][4] DEX gives the suffix as -ar.^[5] The noun for “hand” continues Latin manus (“hand”).^[6]

A Latin source has also been proposed: Scriban and Wiktionary allow manuārius (“of or belonging to the hand”), and Șăineanu gave the Latin as the etymon.^[7][1][8] Ciorănescu thinks the Latin origin less likely, though REW lists the word under it.^[2][9] The Latin adjective is formed from the noun for “hand” with the suffix -ārius.^[1]

South of the Danube the word has related forms: Aromanian mãnar, a neuter noun for the handle of a knife, and Megleno-Romanian mănar, which means “fire steel” in Megleno-Romanian.^[2][10][11] Capidan derives the Megleno-Romanian word from the Latin.^[11] Wiktionary also compares amnar “fire steel”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and Tiktin date the first record to 1588, in a text printed in Hasdeu's Cuvente den bătrâni (before 1588).^[3][4] The DLR quotes it: „cuțite cu mânâre” “knives with handles”.^[12]

Semantic evolution

The word names the part of an object that is shaped to be gripped by the hand.^[5][3] In the 19th century it is used of the hilt of a sword, in Negruzzi and in an 1874 record of swords whose hilts were replaced.^[12] Tiktin quotes it for the handle of a door in Vlahuță.^[4] Damé's 1898 survey of folk technical terms records it for the handle of the scythe and of tools used in weaving.^[12][13] MDA2 also records a popular name of a star in the constellation called the “scythe”.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1588 – mânâre “handles (of knives)”, the first record.^[3][12]
• 19th century – the hilt of a sword in Negruzzi.^[12]
• 1874 – the hilts of swords in a document printed in the Uricariul.^[12]
• 1893–1895 – Damé's dictionary glosses it with French manche and poignée.^[14]
• 1898 – the handle of the scythe in Damé's folk technical terms.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A handle: the part of an object by which it is held and worked with the hand, as on a knife, a door or a tool; a hilt of a sword.^[5][3][4]
2. (astronomy, popular) A star of the constellation called the “scythe”.^[3]

Related words

• mână
• amnar
• Aromanian mãnar
• Latin manuārius

Usage notes

MDA2 lists many regional variants, among them mânar, mănuieri and moineri.^[3] Near-synonyms are coadă, clanță and plăsea.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. mîner
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1470
4. ^ 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. mâner
5. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 633
6. ^ 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. mînă
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 820
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 381
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5332
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 694
11. ^ a b Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 181
12. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. mîner
13. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1898), Încercare de terminologie poporană română, București: Stabilimentul Grafic I. V. Socecu, p. 149
14. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. mâner