normal

Forms

normal m or n (feminine singular normală, masculine plural normali, feminine/neuter plural normale)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French normal, Latin normālis and Italian normale, the sources DEX and Marcu's MDN name.^[2][3] Marcu & Maneca's DN compares the Latin, French and Italian adjectives.^[4] MDA2 and the DLR name the Latin and French words and German normal, Tiktin New Latin and German, and Scriban the Latin alone.^[5][6][7][8] Wiktionary gives the French word, from the Latin one.^[1]

The Latin adjective is formed from norma (“carpenter's square”) with -ālis and first meant “made with a carpenter's square, at a right angle”.^[9][1] In Late Latin it came to mean “prescribed” and “conforming to the rule”;^[10] French borrowed it in the 15th century.^[10] Within Romanian it can be analysed as normă with the suffix -al.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from 1809; besides “normal” he translates it “of an elementary school”, the sense of școală normală.^[7] MDA2 dates it from before 1828, in the documents of the Uricariul.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Negulici's dictionary of 1848 defines it as “which regulates, which directs”, explains școală normală as a school where one learns the art of teaching, and gives the geometrical linie normală “perpendicular”.^[11] Costinescu (1870) has “serving as a norm, as a rule”, with stabiliment normal “a model establishment”.^[12]

The general sense “as it should be, natural, usual” is quoted in the DLR from Heliade on.^[6] It narrowed to “healthy in body and mind” and widened to quantities close to the most frequent value.^[2][4] The școală normală, which trained primary teachers, is now historical.^[2][4] As an adverb it also means “of course, obviously”.^[1]

Timeline

• 1809 – the first record.^[7]
• before 1828 – in the Uricariul documents.^[5]
• 1848 – Negulici: regulating;^[11] școală normală; a perpendicular line.^[11]
• 1870 – Costinescu: serving as a norm; a model establishment.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. As it should be, according to the natural state of things; usual, natural: E normal să fii obosit după atâta drum. “It is normal to be tired after such a journey.”^[2][5]
2. healthy in body and mind.^[2][4]
3. Conforming to a normă;^[2] (of quantities) close to the value most often found.^[2]
4. (geometry) perpendicular: plan normal, linie normală; as a feminine noun, normala “the normal line”.^[2][5]
5. (historical) Școală normală: a school that trained primary teachers.^[2][4]

Adverb

1. In the usual way, normally.^[2][1]
2. (colloquial) of course, obviously.^[1]

Related words

• normă
• -al

Usage notes

Tiktin records an obsolete form normalicesc.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 721
3. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. normal
4. ^ a b c d e Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. normal
5. ^ 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, 166
6. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. normal
7. ^ 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. normal
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 876
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. normal
12. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 181