minciună

Forms

minciună f (plural minciuni)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin mentiō (“lie”), a noun formed on mentior (“to lie”) and distinct from mentiō (“mention”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Ciorănescu and Pușcariu start from a form *mentītiō, later shortened;^[6] Candrea and Densusianu point out that the short form, meaning “lie”, is attested in a Latin glossary.^[2][6]

Tiktin derives the word inside Romanian instead, by contraction of a noun *mințiciune from minți, like putrejune beside putreziciune.^[7] Ciorănescu rejects this: such reductions are late, and no such full form is recorded.^[2]

It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian minciunã and Megleno-Romanian minciună.^[2][8][9] Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian also have verbs for “to lie” of the same family.^[2][10] Wiktionary compares Italian menzogna and French mensonge.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century.^[3] Tiktin cites the Psaltirea Scheiană (Psalm 58:13), and Coresi's Psalter of 1570 has the plural minciuni.^[7][11]

Semantic evolution

The sense “lie, untruth” has been stable since the first texts; the plural is minciuni, with an older minciune.^[3][7] Phrases include a da pe cineva de minciună “to prove someone a liar” and fără minciună “truly, without exaggeration”.^[7][12] The plural also names a diamond-shaped fried pastry, and DEX refers the pastry to minciunea.^[7][12]

Timeline

• early 16th century – in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, the first record.^[3]
• 1570 – minciuni in Coresi's Psalter (Psalm 57:3).^[11]
• 16th century – in the Psaltirea Scheiană (Psalm 58:13).^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lie, a statement that knowingly distorts the truth.^[12][3][1]
2. The habit of lying; deceit, trickery.^[12]
3. A fiction, an invention; in the plural, trifles.^[12]
4. A fried pastry, the same as minciunea.^[12][7]

Word family

• mincinos
• minciunea
• minciunos

Related words

• minți
• Aromanian minciunã

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. minciună
3. ^ 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. 2, 15
4. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. minciună
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5508
6. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. no. 1136
7. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. minciună
8. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 682
9. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 116
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 683
11. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 57:3
12. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 655