pană

pană¹ feather, wedge

Etymology tree of pană¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin pinna

Italian penna

Romanian pană

From the same root · pană¹

Latin pinnāculum ← pinna

Forms

pană f (plural pene)^[1] The older form is peană: the Psaltirea Scheiană has „pasări cu peane” “birds with feathers”.^[2][3]

Etymology

The word for the feather is inherited from Latin pinna (“feather, wing”).^[3][4][1][5] Scriban and Wiktionary also name the variant penna,^[6][1] and Nocentini notes that the two Latin forms merged in Romance.^[7] The regular Romanian outcome was peană, now archaic.^[3][1] It survives in all four branches: Aromanian peanã, Megleno-Romanian peană and Istro-Romanian pęnę.^[3][8] DER compares Albanian pëndë, Italian penna, Occitan pena, Portuguese pena and French penne.^[3] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ (“feather, wing”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Psaltirea Scheiană (c. 1573–1578): „pasări cu peane” “birds with feathers” in Psalm 148:10.^{[4][9][10][2]}

Semantic evolution

From the bird's feather came the quill pen and, figuratively, a writer's style or pen; also a plume worn on a hat, and in the regions a posy of flowers on a young man's hat.^[11][3][12] Categoria pană is a light weight class in boxing and wrestling.^[11] Bulgarian borrowed the word as pana “down”.^[3]

A second group of senses comes from the shape of a wedge: a wedge for splitting wood, the peen of a hammer, the blade of a tool, a strip of bacon for larding meat, a rudder blade and a plectrum.^[11][3] DER also records the belly of the catfish and, in Maramureș, the brim of a hat;^[3] in Maramureș the word also means a maize husk.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1573–1578 – peane “feathers” in the Psaltirea Scheiană, the first record.^[4][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A feather of a bird; in the plural, feathers or down used to stuff pillows.^[11]
2. A quill pen;^[11] (figurative) a writer's style, writing.^[11]
3. A plume or ornament of feathers on a hat;^[11][12] (regional) a posy of flowers worn on a hat.^[11][12]
4. A wedge of wood or metal for splitting wood or fixing parts.^[11][3]
5. The peen of a hammer; the flat part or blade of a tool.^[11]
6. A strip of bacon for larding meat; a rudder blade; a plectrum.^[11]

Word family

• peniș
• peniță
• împenat
• împăna
• pănuș
• penișoară

pană² breakdown

Forms

pană f (plural pene, rarely pane)^[4]

Etymology

The word for a breakdown is borrowed from French panne.^{[11][13][14][2]} Gabinschi explains the French word as a descendant of penna or pinna: from “yard of a sail”, mettre en panne (“to lay a sailing ship to”) led to “standstill, stoppage”.^[15] It is thus the same Latin word as the one for the feather.^[15]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is nautical, in Ion Ghica's letters of 1887: the sails were set „în pană” to stop the ship.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “mechanical breakdown” of a car, a bicycle or an aeroplane is recorded by Scriban in 1939, with a fi în pană “to be stuck”.^[6] DEX adds a rămâne în pană “to be short of something, to be out of money”.^[11]

Timeline

• 1887 – nautical pană in Ion Ghica's letters.^[4]
• 1939 – Scriban records the breakdown of a vehicle.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A breakdown: an accidental stop of a machine, an engine or a vehicle: pană de cauciuc “a flat tyre”.^[11][16]
2. (nautical) The position of a sailing ship whose sails are set against the wind so that it stays in place.^[11][13]
3. (construction) A purlin of a roof.^[14]