mucegai

Forms

mucegai n (plural mucegaiuri)^[1] A variant is mucigai.^[2][3] A regional form muștegai occurs in a charm: „Și te du-n codri pustii … În muștegai Și-n putregai” “and go to the empty forests… into mould and into rot”.^[4][3]

Etymology

It is from Romanian muced (“mouldy, musty”), formed like putregai from putred.^[5][4][2][3] Tiktin explains the ⟨g⟩ for ⟨d⟩ by ucide beside ucigaș.^[5] Ciorănescu derives it from the verb mucezi in the same way.^[6] Pascu saw the adjective with the suffix -aie.^[6] Pușcariu and Wiktionary take it instead from a derivative Vulgar Latin *muccicālium, which also gave Italian moccicaglia.^[6][1][7] The adjective continues Latin mūcidus (“mouldy”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1852.^[5] MDA2 quotes Filimon from a 1957 edition of his works, in the figurative sense of decay.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names the mould that grows on damp organic matter, and by extension damp in walls.^[3][2] Figuratively it is decay or something repugnant, and an insult for old people: Creangă's mucegaiul de babă “that mouldy old hag”.^[5][4] A prinde mucegai is used of people who grow old and dull.^[4][8] Regionally it also means rust of cereals.^[3]

Timeline

• 1852 – the first record.^[5]
• 1870 – Costinescu glosses mucegaiŭ with French moisissure.^[9]
• 1957 – Filimon's figurative use, in MDA2's first record.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. mould, mildew: fungi that form a felt-like grey or greenish layer on organic matter, walls or stones and break it down.^[2][3]
2. By extension, damp in walls.^[2][3]
3. (figurative) Something decayed or repugnant.^[3][4]
4. (regional) Rust of cereals.^[3]

Word family

• mucegăi
• mucegăios

Related words

• muced
• mucezeală
• putregai

Usage notes

The plural is mucegaiuri, rarely mucegăi.^[3] A prinde mucegai means “to go mouldy”, and of people “to grow old and dull”.^[8][4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 679
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 69
4. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. mucegai
5. ^ 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. mucegai
6. ^ a b c d 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. muced
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 838
8. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. mucegai
9. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 121