meserie

Forms

meserie f (plural meserii)^[1]

Etymology

It is a Romanian formation, but on which word is disputed.^[2][3] DLR, DEX and NODEX derive it from Romanian mesereare (“office, function”), an old word that meant “mercy” and then a post granted by a ruler or master.^[2][4][5][6] Tiktin was the first to suggest this, with the meaning of Italian mestiere and French métier put onto the Romanian word;^[7][3] M. Seche defended it in 1962.^[7][3] That noun itself continues miserēre.^[6]

Ciorănescu derives it instead from the old verb meseri (“to be poor”), with the same shift of meaning as the Italian word, which meant both “service” and “need”.^[8] Scriban and Graur take it from the adjective meser (“poor”), which is miser (“wretched, poor”);^[9][3][10] Graur explains that a trade was first the lot of a poor man, who had to find a living, unlike the rich.^[9][3][10] Wiktionary follows this view.^[1] Șăineanu called it of unknown origin.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1827, in Golescu's translation of Vamva's Elementari de filosofie morală, in the general sense “profession”: „Virtutea care caracterisește fiece meserie” “the virtue that marks each profession”.^[2][6][7] Ciorănescu notes that it does not occur before the 19th century.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The DLR puts the narrower sense, a skilled manual trade, first, and the wider “any profession” second, although the latter is the first recorded.^[2] Proverbs show the trade sense: Anton Pann's „Celui cu meserii multe casa-i este fără curte” “he who has many trades has a house without a yard”, and „O meserie plătește cât o moșie” “a trade is worth an estate”.^[2][7] Școală de meserii was the trade school of the 19th and 20th centuries.^[4]

De meserie means “professional, expert”.^[4] In colloquial and slang use Meserie! is praise for something very well done.^[6][12]

Timeline

• 1827 – the first record, “profession”, in Golescu's translation.^[2][7]
• 1870 – messerie in Costinescu's dictionary.^[13]
• 1893 – Damé records Pann's proverb.^[14]
• 1962 – Seche defends the derivation from mesereare.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A skilled trade or craft learned through schooling and practice, such as a tailor's or a mechanic's.^[4][6]
2. By extension, any profession or occupation;^[4][6] de meserie “professional, expert”.^[4][6]
3. (slang, as an exclamation) Excellent work, perfection: Meserie!^[6][12]

Word family

• meseriaș
• meserieșesc
• comeseriaș

Related words

• meșteșug
• meser
• mizerie

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. meserie
3. ^ a b c d e f Graur, Alexandru (1975), Alte etimologii românești, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. meserie
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 643
5. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. meserie
6. ^ 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, 1493
7. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. meserie
8. ^ a b 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. meserie
9. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 800
10. ^ a b 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. meser
11. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 395
12. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. meserie
13. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 89
14. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. meserie