ministru

Forms

ministru m (plural miniștri)^[1] Neculce writes menistru, and MDA2 also has the regional ministu.^[2][3] Old texts use the plural ministri: „dară ministrii lui era răi” “but his ministers were wicked” (Șincai).^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin minister (“servant”), taken in the 18th century, and later also borrowed from French ministre.^[5][1][6][3] Tiktin names New Latin alone, DN and MDN put French first.^[2][7][8]

The Latin noun is formed on minus (“less”) with a comparative suffix, as the opposite of magister (“master”).^[9][1] Graur explains the political sense: in the feudal monarchy the ministers served the king in his household.^[10] From “servant” the Latin word passed to the servants of God, then to the officers of a royal court.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1694.^[2] MDA2 cites Neculce's chronicle (c. 1743), where the word means a high official of a ruler.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word meant a dignitary or counsellor of a ruler: a chronicle of the late 18th century speaks of the prince „și cu ministrii măriei sale” “and his ministers”.^[4][3] Budai-Deleanu, Beldiman and Golescu use it the same way.^[4]

With the modern state it came to mean a member of the government at the head of a ministry.^[3][6] Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 already has the minister without portfolio, the minister sent to a foreign court and the ministers of God, the priests.^[12] Barcianu (1886) lists the ministers of the interior, of foreign affairs, of war and of finance.^[13] The church sense survives for a Protestant pastor.^[8][14]

Timeline

• 1694 – the first record.^[2]
• c. 1743 – menistru in Neculce's chronicle.^[3][2]
• 1870 – ministru fără portofoliu and ministru “envoy” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[12]
• 1886 – the ministers by department in Barcianu's dictionary.^[13]
• 2008 – ministru-parlamentar, a minister who is also a member of parliament, in the press.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. A minister: a high state official, member of the government, at the head of a ministry.^[6][3][1]
2. (obsolete) A dignitary or counsellor of a ruler.^[3][4]
3. (obsolete) An envoy empowered to negotiate for a state.^[3]
4. (dated) A clergyman; a Protestant pastor.^[3][8]

Word family

• prim-ministru
• ministeriabil

Related words

• minister
• ministerial
• administra
• maestru

Usage notes

Consiliu de miniștri is the cabinet, prim-ministru the prime minister, and ministru plenipotențiar a diplomat ranking below an ambassador.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. ministru
3. ^ 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, 18
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. ministru
5. ^ 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. ministru
6. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 657
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. ministru
8. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. ministru
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. minister
10. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 62
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. ministre
12. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 99
13. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 384
14. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 811
15. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. ministru
16. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. ministru