oier

Forms

oier m (plural oieri)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian oaie + -ar, as DEX, DLR and MDA2 give it.^[2][3][4] Tiktin compares boar and văcar, and allows a direct source in Latin oviārius (“of sheep”).^[5] Pascu derives it, with Aromanian uiar, from Vulgar Latin *oviārius, and compares oviāria (“flock of sheep”) and oviārium (“sheepfold”).^[6] Ciorănescu names Pascu's view and treats the word as a derivative of oaie.^[6][7] Wiktionary gives both explanations.^[1]

The base is from Latin ovis (“sheep”).^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to a document of 1620.^[5] MDA2's first record is in Barițiu's history of Transylvania of 1889, where the shepherds of the Hungarian plain wear such hats as the sheep-keepers, swineherds and cowherds do.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The word names a breeder, owner or dealer in sheep, and by extension a shepherd.^[2][4] In the old principalities it was also the title of the official who collected the sheep tax, the oierit: a document of 1805 complains that these officials wrote down rams and goats among the sheep.^[3][5] Coșbuc used the articled Oierul for the constellation Lyra, and in a village near Târgu Mureș it names the tick Ixodes ricinus.^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1620 – the first record, in a document.^[5]
• 1805 – slujbașii oieri, the collectors of the sheep tax, in a document.^[3]
• 1889 – in Barițiu's history of Transylvania.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sheep breeder, owner or dealer; by extension a shepherd, cioban.^[2][1]
2. (dated) An official who collected the sheep tax (oierit).^[2][9]
3. (astronomy, articled, rare) The constellation Lyra.^[2][10]
4. (regional) The tick Ixodes ricinus.^[4][3]

Related words

• oaie
• oierit
• Aromanian uiar

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 738
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. oier
4. ^ 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, 203
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. oier
6. ^ a b Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 134
7. ^ 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. oaie
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6127
9. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 261
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. oier