părinte

Forms

părinte m (plural părinți)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin parēns (“parent, father”), continuing the accusative parentem.^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} The Latin noun is an old participle of pariō (“to give birth to, beget”).^[7][1]

The word survives in Aromanian pãrinti.^[2][8] Its Romance cognates are Italian parente, Portuguese parente, Occitan paren, Catalan parent, French parent and Spanish pariente.^[2][9] Ciorănescu and Pușcariu also compare the Albanian word for “father” and “parents”.^[2][9][10] Several Romance languages use the word for “relative”, while Romanian kept the Latin sense “parent, father”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural părinții “the fathers” appears in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, from the early 16th century, in Psalm 21:4, “our fathers trusted in thee”.^[11][3] Tiktin cites the Psaltirea Scheiană first.^[12]

Semantic evolution

In the singular the word meant “father”, in a solemn style, and in the plural “father and mother” and “forefathers”.^[2][4][13] Varlaam's Cazania foretells that „să vor despărți părinte de fecior și înmă de fată” “father shall be parted from son and mother from daughter”.^[12] It became a title of respect for priests and monks; for this sense Pușcariu compares Albanian and Greek words for the priest.^[2][10] Figurative senses followed: the founder of a science or movement, the Church Fathers (Părinții Bisericii), God as protector, and the Pope (Sfântul Părinte).^[4][13]

Timeline

• early 16th century – părinții and părintelui in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[11][14][3]
• 1570 – părinților “of the fathers” in Coresi's Psalter.^[15]
• c. 1573–1578 – in the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[12]
• 1825 – părinte in the Lexicon de la Buda, also as the title of a priest, with Latin parens, pater.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. (in the plural) parents, father and mother, (in the singular) one of the parents, (in the plural) ancestors, forefathers.^[4][1]
2. A man in relation to his children; a father.^[4]
3. (figurative) a spiritual guide or protector; a monk.^[4]
4. (figurative) the founder or initiator of a science or a cultural movement, Părinții Bisericii “the Fathers of the Church”.^[4]
5. (figurative, in church language) God as the protector of people; the head of the Church: Sfântul Părinte “the Holy Father, the Pope”.^[4]
6. (figurative) a priest, used as a title of respect.^[4][2][1]

Word family

• părintesc
• părintește
• părinție
• părincior
• părințel

Related words

• Aromanian pãrinti
• Latin parēns

Usage notes

The plural părinți “parents” is used for father and mother together, the singular more often for the father or as a priest's title.^[4][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. părinte
3. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 305
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 789
5. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. părinte
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6233
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. parens
8. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 805
9. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. părinte
10. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 111
11. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 21:4
12. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. părinte
13. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 951
14. ^ Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 44:18
15. ^ Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 48:20
16. ^ Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 483