observație

Forms

observație f (plural observații)^[1] MDA2 records the older variants observațiune and oservăciune.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Observation, with French observation and Latin observātiō as further models: DEX and MDA2 name all three, the neologism dictionaries French and Latin, and Tiktin New Latin with intermediaries.^[3][2][4][5] Wiktionary gives French, which is from the Latin.^[1] The Latin noun is formed on observō (“to watch, to observe”) with the suffix -tiō.^[6] The verb observa came from French and Latin at about the same time.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from Iorgovici in 1799.^[5] MDA2 quotes Șincai's translation of a German treatise against popular superstition, made in 1804–1808.^[2] In 1848 Negulici explains it as paying attention, and as the keeping of a law.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The Latin senses “watching” and “observance of a rule” both came with the word: Negulici gives both.^[8][9] The second has gone, while the first developed into the scientific sense, methodical study of an object or process, and into supervision, especially of a patient.^[3] Noticing led to “remark, statement”, which in turn gave “objection, criticism” and “reproach”, which Tiktin already records.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1799 – first record, in Iorgovici.^[5]
• 1804–1808 – in Șincai's manuscript translation.^[2]
• 1848 – Negulici defines it as “attention” and “keeping of the law”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. observation: a method of scientific knowledge, the methodical and deliberate study of an object or process; examination.^[3][4]
2. supervision, especially medical: sub observație “under observation”;^[1] foaie de observație, the chart that records a patient's illness and treatment.^[3][10]
3. A remark, a statement of something noticed.^[3][2]
4. An objection or criticism; by extension a reproach.^[3][4]

Related words

• observa
• observator
• Latin observātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 187
3. ^ 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. 1, 730
4. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. observație
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. observație
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. observa
8. ^ 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. observație
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. observație