mecanic

Forms

mecanic m or n (feminine singular mecanică, masculine plural mecanici, feminine/neuter plural mecanice)^[1] Older texts spell the noun mecanică with h: mihanica in Vîrnav, „Mihanica, parte matematicilor care are de obiect legile mișcării” “mechanics, the part of mathematics whose object is the laws of motion”.^[2] Mehanica in a text of 1829: „De când mehanica s-au făcut pontul celor deosăbite științe” “since mechanics became the bridge of the various sciences”.^[2] Tiktin records the obsolete adjectives mecanicesc, mehanicesc and mihanicesc.^[3]

Etymology

It is a borrowing with several models: borrowed from Latin mēchanicus (“of machines, mechanical”), borrowed from Italian meccanico, borrowed from French mécanique and, for the noun “mechanic”, borrowed from German Mechaniker.^[2][4][5] For the feminine noun mecanică “mechanics” the DLR and DEX name mechanica, meccanica, Mechanik and the French noun.^[2][5] The forms with ⟨h⟩ point to Modern Greek μηχανικός (michanikós) and Russian механик (mexanik).^[2][4] Tiktin sums it up as the Greek and Latin word passed on through several intermediaries.^[3]

The Latin adjective is borrowed from Ancient Greek μηχανικός (mēkhanikós, “of machines”),^[6][1] from μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “machine, contrivance”).^[1] The same Greek word, through Latin machina, gave mașină.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1777.^[3] MDA2 and the DLR quote Amfilohie Hotiniul's Gramatica fizicii, a translation from Italian preserved in a manuscript of the late 18th century, for “the laws of mechanics” (MDA2's year 1627 is the manuscript's shelfmark).^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

At first the word named the science, mecanică.^[2] A document of 1841 lists physics and “popular mechanics” among the subjects of a school course.^[2] The noun for a person came next: Negulici's dictionary of 1848 defines mecanic as one who knows or teaches mechanics, Antonescu gives both French mécanique and mécanicien, and Damé the noun alone.^[8][9][10]

Scriban gives the adjective of the laws of motion, of work done by hand or machine, and “like a machine, without thinking”, as when a pupil recites a lesson mecanic.^[11] Șăineanu has the same figurative sense, of work that needs no intelligence.^[12] The noun came to mean a worker who repairs machines and the driver of a locomotive or engine.^[13][5]

Timeline

• 1777 – the first record cited by Tiktin.^[3]
• late 18th century – “the laws of mechanics” in Amfilohie Hotiniul's Gramatica fizicii.^[4][2]
• 1829 – mehanica “mechanics”.^[2]
• 1841 – mehanica poporană “popular mechanics” as a school subject.^[2]
• 1848 – Negulici defines the noun “one who knows mechanics”.^[8]
• 1875 – Antonescu has the adjective and the noun.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to mechanics.^[5][14]
2. Driven by a machine or a mechanism; done with machines.^[5][13][1]
3. (also adverb) Done without thought or will; automatic: A răspuns mecanic, fără să asculte întrebarea.^[5][14]
4. Applying a theory or rule rigidly, without regard to the particular case; schematic.^[5]

Noun

1. A specialist in mechanics.^[5]
2. A mechanic: a worker who assembles, repairs or maintains machines and equipment.^[5][15][1]
3. A person who drives a vehicle or tends an engine, especially a locomotive driver; a mașinist.^[5][13]

Related words

• mecanică
• mecanism
• mașină
• Latin mēchanicus

Usage notes

DEX treats the feminine noun mecanică “mechanics” under the same headword, with mecanică cerească “celestial mechanics”.^[5] MDA2 records the old variants mahanic, mehanic, mihanic and the regional mehalnic.^[4]

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 j k Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. mecanic
3. ^ 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. mecanic
4. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1477
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 635
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 55
8. ^ 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. mecanic
9. ^ a b Antonescu, G. M. (1875), Dictionariu romanu-francesu, Bucuresci: Typografia Curții (Lucrători Associați), p. 174
10. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. mecanic
11. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 791
12. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 391
13. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. mecanic
14. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. mecanic
15. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 48