mașină

Forms

mașină f (plural mașini)^[1] Older texts write mahină or machină: „Acel minunat meșter carele au făcut ... toată mahina ... lumii” “that wonderful master who made the whole machine of the world” (the Critil, in Gaster's chrestomathy).^[2] Regional variants include marșină, mărșină, mârșână, meșină, moșină and mușină.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French machine, with German Maschine as a second model, as DEX, MDA2 and Marcu's dictionary of neologisms give it.^[4][3][5][1] Ciorănescu takes it from French and, earlier, in the 18th century, from Latin machina.^[6] Tiktin names the Neo-Latin word and compares Italian macchina and French.^[6][2] The older forms mahină and machină follow the Latin spelling.^[2][6]

The Latin word was borrowed very early from the Doric form Ancient Greek μαχανά (makhaná, “machine, contrivance”), the Attic form of which is μηχανή (mēkhanḗ).^[7][8][1] The French word comes from the Latin, and the German one was taken from French in the 17th century, first for engines of war and siege.^[9][8]

The word also reached the sister branches: Aromanian machină and Megleno-Romanian mașină.^[6] Papahagi derives the Aromanian form from Italian.^[10] Graur notes that the Latin verb māchinor lives on in măcina (“to grind”), and that a regional măchină (“winnowing machine”) comes from Italian.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1793.^[2] MDA2 gives 1832 as its first date.^[3] In Critil's text, quoted in Gaster's chrestomathy, mahina lumii is the whole mechanism of the world.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is a mechanism or apparatus in general, as in mașina lumii “the mechanism of the world” and mașina statului “the machinery of the state”.^[2][12] In the 19th century it became the steam engine and the industrial machine, and compounds such as mașină de cusut “sewing machine” and mașină de scris “typewriter” followed.^[2][13]

Specialised senses grew from it: the locomotive, the threshing machine and the motor car.^[4][14][2] A cooking stove is also a mașină (mașină de gătit).^[4][15] Regional speech uses it for a train, a factory, the stomach, a match and, as moșină, warp cotton.^[3] The Muntenia glossary records it for a stove with a hotplate and for a threshing machine.^[16] The compound mașină-capcană “car bomb” appears in the press in 1993, modelled on French voiture piégée.^[17]

Timeline

• 1793 – the first record.^[2]
• 1832 – MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1851 – mașinile in a printing house's equipment.^[13]
• 1993 – mașină-capcană “car bomb” in the press.^[17]

Meanings

Noun

1. A machine: a technical system of parts with fixed movements that turns one form of energy into another or into useful work; by extension a device or apparatus.^[4][3] Mașină-unealtă is a machine tool.^[4][3]
2. A locomotive.^[4][3]
3. A motor vehicle, a car: Și-a cumpărat o mașină nouă. “He bought a new car.”^[4][3]
4. A kitchen stove for cooking.^[4][3]
5. (figurative) A set of means used for some, usually objectionable, purpose.^[4][3]
6. (figurative) A person who works a great deal and mechanically.^[4][3]
7. (regional) A train; a factory; the stomach; a match.^[3]

Word family

• mașinal
• mașinism
• mașinărie
• mașinist
• mașinuță

Related words

• măcina
• Latin machina

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. mașínă
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1440
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. 623
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. mașină
6. ^ a b c d 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. mașină
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 651
11. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
12. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 780
13. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. mașină
14. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. mașină
15. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. mașină
16. ^ Marin, Maria; Mărgărit, Iulia, Glosar dialectal. Muntenia, București: Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti”, p. 250
17. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. mașínă