nefericit

Forms

nefericit m or n (feminine singular nefericită, masculine plural nefericiți, feminine/neuter plural nefericite)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian ne- + fericit, the negative of the adjective meaning “happy”.^[2][3][4][1] Tiktin gives it under that adjective, and Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of ferice.^[5][6] The adjective is the participle of ferici, a verb formed on the same word, which Romanian kept from Latin fēlīx (“happy, fortunate”) (accusative fēlīcem).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the chapter heading of Luke 6 in the New Testament of 1648, with the sense “unhappy, wretched”.^[5] MDA2 dates the word only from Șincai's Hronicul românilor in its 1853 edition.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word means a person without happiness, one who suffers or is in grief, and is often used as a noun: nefericitul “the unfortunate man”.^[4][8][9] The Lexicon de la Buda of 1825 glosses it with Latin infelix, infaustus and miser and German unglücklich.^[10] From people it passed to things and events that bring misfortune, an ill-fated day or thought, and later to anything in a poor state or causing trouble, as a nefericită climate.^[4][2][8] A familiar use for things in a wretched, primitive state is recorded in DLR.^[3]

In political journalism candidat nefericit “losing candidate” follows French malheureux “loser”;^[11] Dimitrescu records it in 1995.^[11]

Timeline

• 1648 – in the chapter heading of Luke 6 in the New Testament, the first record.^[5]
• 1825 – nefericitu “unhappy, ill-starred” in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[10]
• 1853 – in the edition of Șincai's Hronicul românilor, MDA2's first record.^[2]
• 1886 – nefericit “unhappy, unfortunate” in Barcianu's dictionary.^[12]
• 1995 – candidat nefericit “losing candidate” in the press, after French malheureux.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. unhappy; suffering, especially in spirit; full of grief; often used as a noun: an unhappy or wretched person.^[4][2][1]
2. unfortunate, ill-fated, bringing misfortune: o întâmplare nefericită “an ill-fated event”.^[4][2][1]
3. In a poor or unfavourable state; causing trouble: o alegere nefericită “an unfortunate choice”.^[4][2]
4. (colloquial, of things) In a very bad, primitive state; miserable.^[2][3]

Word family

• nefericire

Related words

• fericit
• ferice
• nenorocit

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 124
3. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. nefericit
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. 701
5. ^ 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. nefericit
6. ^ a b 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. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. s.v. nefericit
8. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 186
9. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. nefericit
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. nefericit
12. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 411