maro

Forms

maro m or f or n (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French marron (“chestnut; brown”), a loan of the early 20th century.^[2][3][4][1] MDN adds Italian marrone and German Marone as further models.^[5] The French word was borrowed in 1526 from the Italian word, then “large edible chestnut”, which DHLF thinks probably formed on a pre-Roman root meaning “stone, rock”.^[6] The French colour name came from the phrase couleur de maron (“chestnut colour”), recorded from 1706.^[6] The variant maron keeps the French final consonant.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR have it first in Alexi's Romanian–German dictionary of 1906.^[3][4] The DLR quotes the variant from George Călinescu: „o mare cortină de pluș maron” “a large brown plush curtain”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word names the colour of roasted chestnuts and of ground coffee, between castaniu and cafeniu.^[3][2] It is used as an adjective and as a neuter noun for the colour itself.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1526 – French marron “chestnut”, from Italian.^[6]
• 1706 – French couleur de maron “chestnut colour”.^[6]
• 1906 – maro in Alexi's Romanian–German dictionary, the first record.^[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. brown, of the colour of roasted chestnuts; reddish-brown, castaniu: pantofi maro.^[2][3]

Noun

1. The colour brown.^[2][3]

Related words

• maron
• castaniu
• French marron

Usage notes

As an adjective it is invariable: un pulover maro, ochi maro.^[2][7] As a noun it has the plural marouri and the articled form maroul.^[1][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 620
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1436
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. maro
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. maro
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. maro
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. maro