momentan

Forms

momentan m or n (feminine singular momentană, masculine plural momentani, feminine/neuter plural momentane)^[1] An older form momentaneu (feminine momentanee) stood closer to the Latin;^[2][3] Filimon wrote of „o furie, un delir momentaneu” “a fury, a momentary delirium”.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin mōmentāneus (“momentary, of brief duration”), borrowed from Italian momentaneo, borrowed from French momentané, borrowed from German momentan: a neologism with several possible models, all of which DEX, MDA2 and DLR list.^[3][4][2][1] Marcu gives the Latin, French and German words, while the older Marcu & Maneca and Scriban name only the French and Latin ones.^[5][6][7]

The Latin adjective is formed on mōmentum (“movement; moment”) with the suffix -āneus,^[1] and it is a late word of Church writers such as Tertullian and the Vulgate.^[8] That noun belongs to moveō (“to move”).^[9] The Italian adjective is recorded from the 15th century, taken from the Late Latin adjective.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Flechtenmacher's translation of a treatise by Morison on the source of health and the causes of illness, a manuscript of 1829–1831, where the plural momentane is glossed “de clipală”, “of a twinkling”.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first meant “lasting only a moment, temporary”, as in Kogălniceanu's and Maiorescu's prose.^[2] 19th-century texts also used it for something sudden: moarte momentană was a sudden death, and an old medical book calls catalepsy apoplexie momentană.^[2] In 20th-century grammar it became a term for verbs and tenses that express a brief action, opposed to durative ones.^[2][3][5]

The adverb “for a moment, at present” is recorded by Scriban, with the example of having no time just now, and the 19th-century dictionaries already give it.^[7][11] The sense “current, present” is rare.^[2]

Timeline

• 1829–1831 – momentane in Flechtenmacher's manuscript translation, the first record.^[4][2]
• 1870 – Costinescu gives the adjective and its use as an adverb.^[11]
• 1939 – Scriban records the adverb “for the moment, for now” and “instantly”.^[7]
• 1954 – a linguistic article uses timp momentan of a tense expressing a brief action.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lasting a moment or a short time; temporary, transient.^[3][4]
2. (grammar) Of verbs and tenses: expressing a brief action, punctual (opposed to durativ).^[3][1]
3. Instantaneous, happening at once: o reacție momentană.^[2]
4. (rare) Belonging to the present moment; current.^[3][2]

Adverb

1. At the moment, for now: Momentan sunt ocupat.^[3][1]
2. At once, immediately.^[3][5]
3. For a very short time.^[2]

Related words

• moment

Usage notes

In mining and quarrying, regional speech also uses a neuter noun momentan for a fuse that sets off an explosive at once.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. momentan
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 668
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 47
5. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 829
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
10. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 112