miez

Forms

miez n (plural miezuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin medius (“middle, central”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Ciorănescu cites Diez, Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu and the REW for it.^[2][6] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”).^[1][7] The neologism mediu is a borrowed doublet.^[1]

It survives south of the Danube and in Istria: Aromanian njedzu and Istro-Romanian mež, and Ciorănescu also gives a Megleno-Romanian form.^[2][8][1] The feminine media gave the Romanian miază, which lives on only in compounds: miazăzi “noon; south”, miazănoapte “midnight; north”, and the old name of mid-Lent, Miază-Păresimi, from media quadragesima.^[2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the word to 1538 in the Slavonic–Romanian documents, in its use as an adjective in the names of the times of day, miazăzi and miazănoapte.^[9] The Psaltirea Scheiană has de la miazănoapte “from the north” (Psalm 106:3).^[9] The noun is first recorded in a text of 1691, la miezul nopții “at midnight”.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The oldest records use the word for the middle of a span of time: midnight, noon, mid-Lent and midsummer or midwinter.^[3][5][9] In miazăzi and miazănoapte the time sense later gave way to the compass directions south and north, and noon and midnight came to be said amiază, miezul zilei and miezul nopții.^[9][2] Folk belief made Miezul nopții a being that walks the earth at midnight.^[3]

In space the word means the middle or centre of something, then the soft inner part of a fruit or a loaf, the kernel of a nut, and figuratively the essence or the hidden meaning of something.^[2][4] Aromanian has the concrete sense too: the crumb of bread and the pulp of fruit.^[8] Foundry workers use it for the core that leaves a hollow in a casting.^[4]

Timeline

• 1538 – in the Slavonic–Romanian documents, as an adjective in the names of the times of day.^[9]
• 16th century – miazănoapte “north” in the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[9]
• 1688 – miază noapte and miază zi as directions in the Bucharest Bible.^[9]
• 1691 – la miezul nopții “at midnight”, the first record of the noun.^[3][5]
• 1757 – după miezul nopții “after midnight”.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The soft inner part of a fruit, of bread and the like.^[4] Also, the innermost, central part of a thing or a space, its core.^[4][2][1]
2. The edible kernel of a nut (plural mieji or miezi). A crește pe cineva cu miez de nucă means to pamper someone.^[4]
3. (technology) A removable core used in foundry work to form the hollows of a casting.^[4]
4. (figurative) The essence of a matter.^[4] Also, the meaning or deeper sense of something: cu miez “meaningful”.^[4][2]
5. In phrases of time: miezul nopții or miez de noapte “midnight”, miezul zilei “noon”, miezul verii “midsummer”.^[4][3]

Word family

• miază
• amiază
• miezos
• miezură
• primez
• miazăzi
• miazănoapte

Related words

• mediu
• Aromanian njedzu
• Latin medius

Usage notes

The plural is miezuri in most senses, but miezi or mieji for the kernels of nuts.^[4][3]

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 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. miez
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. 2, 9
4. ^ 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. 652
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. miez
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5462
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 795
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. miez