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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word pară

pară1 flame

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1500–1520 Psaltirea Hurmuzaki
Borrowed from
Old Church Slavonic пара
Ultimate origin
Proto-Slavic *para

Pronunciation

Forms

pară f (plural pare)[1]

Etymology

The word for the flame is borrowed from Old Church Slavonic пара (para, “steam, vapour, smoke”).[2][3][4][5][6][7] The same noun means “steam” in Bulgarian па́ра (pára) and the other Slavic languages, and goes back to Proto-Slavic *pàra (“steam”), a noun formed on *pariti.[8][9][1] Ciorănescu notes that the change of sense from “steam” to “flame” has not been explained, though it looks Slavic, and that a crossing with păli (“to burn”) is possible, compare Czech pala (“flame”).[2] Scriban links it with opări and pârli.[10]

Ciorănescu also lists Aromanian pirã, but Papahagi and Pascu derive the Aromanian word from Greek.[2][11][12] Wiktionary too derives the Romanian word from Greek, from Ancient Greek πυρά (purá).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the early 16th-century Psaltirea Hurmuzaki (Psalm 28:7).[6] MDA2 dates it from the Psaltirea Scheiană (c. 1573–1578), where the sinners burn in a văpaie that other psalters call pară.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The oldest records still show senses close to the Slavonic: Coresi's Evanghelie uses pară of a strong exhalation rising from the body to the brain, and the Bible of 1688 has a pară de fum “column of smoke” rising from a city.[5][4] The usual sense, “flame, blaze, glowing heat”, is in the 16th-century texts and in the chroniclers: Miron Costin tells of a galleon that burned cu mare pară “in a great blaze”.[5]

Figurative senses followed: a strong, tormenting feeling, a burning desire, enthusiasm.[4][3] The word is now mostly poetic or used in fixed phrases such as foc și pară “furious”, roșu ca para focului “bright red” and a trece prin foc și pară “to go through fire and water”.[3][10][1] Regionally it can mean lightning or the cutting edge of an axe.[13]

Timeline

  • early 16th century – pară “flame” in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.[6]
  • c. 1573–1578 – in the Psaltirea Scheiană.[4]
  • 1645 – „au ieșit para din pept” “the flame came out of his chest” in a text of 1645.[5]
  • 1688 – pară de fum “column of smoke” in the Bucharest Bible.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (now mostly poetic) A flame, blaze; by extension, scorching heat.[3][1]
  2. de pară: bright red, like a flame; burning hot.[3]
  3. (figurative) A strong, tormenting feeling; ardour, burning desire.[3][4]

pară2 pear

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1670 Anonymus Caransebesiensis
Inherited from
Latin *pira
Ultimate origin
Latin pirum

Pronunciation

Forms

pară f (plural pere)[1]

Etymology

The word for the pear is inherited from Vulgar Latin *pira (“pear”), the plural of Latin pirum (“pear”) taken as a feminine singular.[1][14][3][4][5] Ciorănescu treats it in his article on păr “pear tree”, from Latin pirus, and takes it to continue the Latin neuter.[15] It survives in all four branches: Aromanian pearã, Megleno-Romanian pęră and Istro-Romanian pęrę.[15][14] The Romance cognates include Dalmatian paira, Italian pera, French poire, Catalan pera, Spanish pera and Portuguese pera.[15] De Vaan considers the Latin word a loan from a Mediterranean language, related to Ancient Greek ἄπιον (ápion, “pear”).[16]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the Anonymus Caransebesiensis, a Romanian–Latin glossary of about 1670.[17] MDA2 dates the word from Neculce's chronicle, which says that Turks and Tatars fell „ca perile” “like pears”.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Besides the fruit, the word names things of a similar shape: in Transylvania pară galbenă or pară de pământ is the potato, after German Grundbirne, and pară de brad is a fir cone.[17][4] By analogy it names pear-shaped objects and technical parts.[3] Idioms include a-i pica cuiva para în gură “to get something without effort” and nu plătește nicio pară putredă “it is worthless”.[3][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1670 – pară in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis.[17]
  • c. 1743 – ca perile “like pears” in Neculce's chronicle.[4]
  • 1773 – peare among the fruits listed in a calendar.[5]
  • 1857 – the diminutive perișoară in Polizu's dictionary.[18]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pear, the fruit of the pear tree (păr).[3][1]
  2. By analogy, a pear-shaped object or technical part, such as a rubber bulb.[3]
  3. (regional, Transylvania) The potato (pară galbenă, pară de pământ).[4][17]

Word family

  • perișoară
  • perușcă

Usage notes

The two words have different plurals: pare “flames”, rare, and pere “pears”.[3] A third pară, a small Turkish coin, has the plural parale.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. pară
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 775
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 268
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pară
  6. ^ 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. páră 2
  7. ^ Kurz, Josef; Hauptová, Zoe (eds.) (1958–1997), Slovník jazyka staroslověnského / Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae, 4 vols. + supplements, Praha: Academia; digital ed. gorazd.org
  8. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 5, 59
  9. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  10. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 934
  11. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 846
  12. ^ 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. 2, 74
  13. ^ Bulgăr, Gheorghe; Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gheorghe (2002), Dicționar de arhaisme și regionalisme, 2 vols., București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. pară
  14. ^ a b Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 836
  15. ^ 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. păr
  16. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  17. ^ 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. páră 1
  18. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 350
  19. ^ Cihac, A. de (1879), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane II: Éléments slaves, magyars, turcs, grecs-moderne et albanais, Frankfurt am Main, p. 603

Related etymologies

  • prea · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • înșela · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • somn · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • veste · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • coș · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • lin · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • râs · also from Old Church Slavonic
  • suci · also from Old Church Slavonic
Cite this entry

“Pară.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/par%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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