minus

Forms

minus n (plural minusuri); also an adverb^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin minus (“less”), a learned borrowing.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Latin word is the neuter of the comparative minor (“smaller”), used as an adverb.^[6][7] Graur lists its Romanian relatives from the same Latin family: minor, minim, minut, minuscul and the inherited mărunt.^[7]

The Latin adverb itself lived on in the Romance languages: Italian meno, Sardinian minus, French moins, Catalan menys, Spanish menos and Portuguese menos.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin and MDA2 date the first record to 1785, Gheorghe Șincai's arithmetic textbook printed at Blaj: „— e semnul scoaterii și se numește minus” “— is the sign of subtraction and is called minus”.^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word entered as a term of arithmetic, the name of the sign of subtraction, and Asachi's and Lazăr's textbooks used it in the same way.^[5] Asachi also used it as an adverb, explaining that it means mai puțin “less”;^[5] Caragiale wrote of a collection of a review „minus două numere” “minus two issues”.^[5] In the 20th century the noun came to mean a deficit or shortfall, and also a defect.^[5][3] In physics it marks negative electric charges and temperatures below zero.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1785 – first record, in Șincai's arithmetic textbook, as the name of the subtraction sign.^[4][3]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary glosses the adverb “less”.^[11]
• 1955–1957 – the DLRLC records the noun “deficit, shortfall”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The minus sign, a short horizontal line marking subtraction or a negative number or quantity;^[2][3] minus infinit “minus infinity”.^[2][3]
2. A deficit, a shortfall in an account or an inventory.^[2][3]
3. A defect or deficiency.^[3]

Adverb

1. less, without: Zece minus patru fac șase.^[2][3]

Related words

• minor
• minim
• minut
• minuscul
• mărunt

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 657
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 20
4. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. minus
5. ^ 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. minus
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
10. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne
11. ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich