operator

Forms

operator m (plural operatori)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French opérateur, with Latin operator as a second source, as DEX, DLR and the neologism dictionaries give it;^[2][3][4][5] MDA2 names French alone.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun, a post-classical word for a worker, is formed from operor (“to work”) with the agent suffix -tor.^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, from a bulletin of 1843, has the old sense “surgeon”: a master of surgery, midwife and operator.^[3][5] Negulici (1848) defines it the same way.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Costinescu (1870) adds the French sense of a seller of remedies in a public square, and Barcianu (1886) still glosses it with German “surgeon”.^[8][9] The surgeon sense is now dated.^[10] In the 20th century the word came to mean the person who runs a machine or apparatus, and especially the cinema operator, who films or projects;^[3] DLR quotes it for telephone operators too.^[3] The neologism dictionaries add technical senses in mathematics, computing and biology.^[11] Recent press uses include operator-radio (1974) and the operator of an exchange office.^[12]

Timeline

• 1843 – operator “surgeon”, the first record.^[3][5]
• 1848 – “one who performs surgical operations” in Negulici.^[7]
• 1870 – also “seller of remedies in a public square” in Costinescu.^[8]
• 1974 – operator-radio.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A skilled worker who supervises a machine or apparatus or performs operations with it; especially a cameraman or a film projectionist.^[2][5]
2. A surgeon.^[2][10]
3. (mathematics) A function between two vector spaces that is compatible with their structure.^[2]
4. (linguistics, logic) A connective.^[2][5]

Adjective

1. Only in bloc operator: the operating suite of a surgical unit.^[2]

Related words

• opera
• operație

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 744
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. operator
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. operator
5. ^ 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, 215
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ 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. operator
8. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 208
9. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 443
10. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. operator
11. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. operator
12. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. operator