nefericire

Forms

nefericire f (plural nefericiri)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian ne- + fericire (“happiness”), the negative of the noun.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Ciorănescu lists this noun and the verb ferici among the derivatives of ferice “happy”, which is from Latin fēlīx (“happy, lucky”), from its accusative.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from 1705, Dimitrie Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[5] The DLR's first quotation, which MDA2 also cites, is from Șincai's chronicle, where a war between Hungarian kings ends „cu nefericirea lui Solomon” “to Solomon's misfortune”.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word means both a state, the condition of an unhappy person, and an event, a misfortune that brings someone suffering; the plural nefericiri is used for the second.^[2][4] Dictionaries of the early 19th century give it with Latin infelicitas, infortunium and German Unglück, and Pontbriant (1862) with French malheur and also “the act of making unhappy”.^[7][8] The phrase din nefericire “unfortunately” is already in Tiktin.^[5][2] It competes with the older nenorocire, with which the dictionaries define it.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1705 – nefericire in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[5]
• 1825 – Nefericire “infelicitas, infortunium” in the Lexicon of Buda.^[7]
• 1853 – Șincai's chronicle is printed, the text MDA2 takes as the first record.^[3]
• 1862 – Pontbriant glosses it “malheur, infortune”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. unhappiness: the state or situation of an unhappy person; lack of happiness.^[2][3][1]
2. A misfortune: an event or circumstance that causes someone suffering or trouble.^[2][9]
3. Moral suffering.^[3]

Related words

• fericire
• nefericit
• ferice
• nenorocire

Usage notes

Din nefericire means “unfortunately”: Din nefericire, trenul plecase. “Unfortunately, the train had left.”^[2][9] MDA2 records a regional form năfericire.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 701
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 124
4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. nefericire
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. nefericire
6. ^ 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. ferice
7. ^ a b Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 424
8. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 471
9. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. nefericire