nap

Forms

nap m (plural napi)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nāpus (“turnip”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Latin word is an adaptation of Ancient Greek νᾶπυ (nâpu, “mustard”).^[6][1]

It also survives as Istro-Romanian nǫp.^[2][5] Its Romance cognates include Italian napo, Occitan nap, Catalan nap, Old French naf, Spanish nabo and Portuguese nabo.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record found is the plural napi in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon of about 1660–1670 (Lex.St.), where it glosses Slavonic репа “turnip”.^[8] MDA2 and Tiktin cite the 17th-century Latin–Romanian–Hungarian Lexicon Marsilianum, which Tiktin dates to about 1700.^[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The word names the turnip or swede and its fleshy root.^[4][9] Because the peeled root is bare and smooth, gol ca napul or gol nap came to mean “stark naked”, and by extension “utterly poor”.^[9][3][10] Compounds name other plants with edible tubers: nap porcesc or nap turcesc is the Jerusalem artichoke, and nap de pământ the potato.^[9][10][4]

In the regions the name passed to other root vegetables: in Transylvania it can mean the potato, and in Maramureș also beetroot or kohlrabi.^[11][12] Scriban lists the many regional names of the plant, such as brojbă, gulie and caralabă.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1660–1670 – napi glosses Slavonic репа “turnip” in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[8]
• 17th century – nap in the Lexicon Marsilianum.^[3][9]
• 1892 – cu napul “naked, empty-handed” in a folk text quoted by Tiktin.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. turnip or swede: a plant of the cabbage family with a rosette of leaves and a fleshy, roughly round, edible root (Brassica napus).^[4][1]
2. nap porcesc: the Jerusalem artichoke, a yellow-flowered plant of the daisy family with nutritious tubers, grown as fodder (Helianthus tuberosus).^[4][9]
3. (regional) The potato; in Maramureș also beetroot or kohlrabi.^[11][12]

Related words

• Istro-Romanian nǫp
• Latin nāpus

Usage notes

Gol ca napul, gol ca un nap or gol nap means “stark naked” and, by extension, “very poor”.^[4][3]

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. nap
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 94
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 689
5. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 99
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5821
8. ^ a b Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. napi
9. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. nap
10. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 159
11. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. nap
12. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. nap
13. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 850