minge

Forms

minge f (plural mingi)^[1]

Etymology

Its source is probably Slavic, but no dictionary finds the exact model.^[2][3][4] In Ciorănescu's view it is borrowed from Old Church Slavonic мѧчь (męčĭ, “ball”), following Miklosich, Cihac, Byhan, Berneker and Conev, and compares Serbo-Croatian mečak, Russian мяч (mjač) and Hungarian mancs.^[2] Wiktionary takes the same view and traces the Slavonic word to Proto-Slavic *męčь (“ball”).^[1] Tiktin also starts from a Slavic form, comparing Ukrainian м'яч (mjač) and Czech míč.^[5][6] The DLR thinks of a Slavic word that is not attested, comparing Old East Slavic мячь (mjačĭ).^[3] DEX 2009 only compares Slavonic, and MDA2 calls the word of unknown origin, with the Slavonic form as a comparison.^[7][4] Wikționar, too, gives the origin as unknown.^[8]

The Slavic noun is formed on *męčati (“to squash, knead”), the family of *mękъkъ (“soft”).^[1] Scriban had already linked the word with the Slavonic word for “soft”.^[9] The Hungarian word, a dialect word of the Palóc area recorded from 1781 as “wooden ball for play”, is itself Slavic; its /n/ keeps the Slavic nasal vowel, a sign of an early loan.^[10][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin and the DLR date the first record to 1645, in the Romanian translation of Herodotus, where the form is minciia: the inventors of games „au aflat tavlie și minciia” “found backgammon and the ball”.^[5][3] MDA2's first record is the Anonymus Caransebesiensis, a Romanian–Latin glossary of about 1650–1700.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the sense “ball for games”; children's games are named after it, such as de-a mingea, and MDA2 records names of the game of oină with it.^[4][5] In Maramureș and Bukovina it also means a lump of maize porridge or earth.^[4][5] Many regional synonyms exist: cotcă, hapuc, loptă and surducă.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1645 – minciia in the Romanian Herodotus, the first record.^[5][3]
• c. 1650–1700 – in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis.^[4]
• 1862 – a headword in Pontbriant's dictionary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ball: a round, rarely oval, object of rubber, leather or plastic, usually filled with air, used in games and sports.^[7][4][1]
2. A game played with a ball.^[7]
3. (regional, Maramureș, Bukovina) A lump of mămăligă or of earth.^[4][5]

Related words

• Hungarian mancs

Usage notes

Variants include mince (Bukovina and the north), mingie and, regionally, menge, mice and mige.^[2][7][4] The plural is mingi.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. minge
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. minge
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 16
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. minge
6. ^ a b Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu, p. s.v. mancs
7. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 656
8. ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 810
10. ^ Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 834