obliga

Forms

obliga (present oblig, third-person singular obligă, past participle obligat), 1st conjugation^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin obligō (“to bind; to put under obligation”), with French obliger as a second model, as DEX, MDA2 and DLR give it.^[2][3][4][5] Ciorănescu derives it from Latin and dates the borrowing to the 19th century.^[6] Marcu and Maneca give Latin and compare French, and Wiktionary gives French, from Latin.^[7][1] Tiktin calls it a Latin neologism that also came indirectly.^[8] The Latin verb is formed on ligō (“to bind”) with ob-.^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to Dimitrie Cantemir's Hronicul of 1722.^[8][3] Cantemir also used the form obligui.^[8][3] DLR's first quotation for the sense “to compel” is from a calendar of 1794: „Fu obligat a fipsa acea lăcuire a sa” “he was obliged to fix his dwelling there”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Negulici's vocabulary of 1848 glosses obligare as to put under obligation, to bind by a deed, to force, and to do someone a service.^[10] The old variants obligui, obligălui and the rare oblega gave way to the form on the Latin and French model.^[8][3] Today the verb means to compel, to put under obligation, and with the reflexive to commit oneself.^[2]

Timeline

• 1722 – Cantemir's Hronicul, the first record.^[8]
• 1794 – obligat “compelled” in a calendar.^[4]
• 1848 – obligare in Negulici's vocabulary.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To compel, to force someone to do something; to impose.^[2][3]
2. (transitive and reflexive) To put (oneself) under an obligation, to oblige.^[2][3]
3. (reflexive) To undertake, to commit oneself to a task or responsibility.^[2][3]

Word family

• obligativitate
• obligatoriu
• obligație

Related words

• Latin obligō
• French obliger

Usage notes

The present is oblig; the form oblighez is nonstandard.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 729
3. ^ 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, 184
4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. obliga
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. obliga
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. obliga
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. obliga
8. ^ 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. obliga
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b 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. obligare