ofițer

Forms

ofițer m (plural ofițeri)^[1] Old forms include ofițir, ofițeriu, ofițier, oficer, oficier, oficiar and ofițiar.^[2][3] Neculce writes „câte un ofițier cap” “an officer at the head of each”.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Polish oficer, with Russian офицер (oficer) and French officier as further models: the three sources DEX gives.^[5][3] MDA2, Marcu and the DLR add German Offizier.^[3][6][4] Ciorănescu takes the French word through German and probably Russian.^[7] Graur gives the route through Polish.^[8] Tiktin and the DLR also name Latin officiālis, the word coming through several languages.^[2][4]

The French noun is from Medieval Latin officiārius (“holder of an office”), from officium (“duty, office”).^[9][10] German took it from French in the 15th century in the sense of a court official, and the military sense from the 16th century.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1701, in the Foletul novei, the calendar of Constantin Brâncoveanu, which MDA2 cites for 1693–1704.^[2][3] Ciorănescu gives Axinte Uricariul, before 1766, as the first record.^[7] The first sense was the leader of a group of soldiers, as in Neculce.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The DLR's first sense is the chief of a larger or smaller group of soldiers, which became the general name of the military grades from second lieutenant to general.^[4] Bălcescu wrote that the boyars were the officers of the armed forces.^[4] The word was extended to officials with special duties, such as the ofițer al stării civile “registrar”, and to a grade of an order of decorations.^[5][11] Recent usage has ofițer de credite “loan officer” in banks.^[12]

The Delta fishermen gave the name to a long, thin variety of carp with a large bony head.^[5] In Moldova it names the ruffe, ghiborț.^[13]

Timeline

• 1701 – the first record, in the Foletul novei.^[2][3]
• c. 1743 – ofițier in Neculce's chronicle.^[4]
• before 1766 – in Axinte Uricariul.^[7]
• 1929 – the titles of dignitaries and the carp variety in Șăineanu.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. The general name for the military ranks from second lieutenant to general; a person holding one of them: Tatăl lui era ofițer de marină.^[5][3]
2. A title given to officials with special duties; a person with this title: ofițer al stării civile “registrar”.^[5]
3. (obsolete) A grade of an order of decorations, above knight; a person holding it.^[5]
4. (popular) A long, thin variety of carp with a large bony head, living in the pools of the Danube Delta.^[5]

Word family

• ofițeresc
• ofițerește
• ofițerime
• subofițer

Related words

• oficiu
• oficial

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. ofițer
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 199
4. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. ofițer
5. ^ 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. 737
6. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. ofițer
7. ^ a b c 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. ofițer
8. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
9. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 666
10. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
11. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 894
12. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. ofițer
13. ^ Stati, Vasile (2003), Dicționar moldovenesc-românesc, Chișinău
14. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 441