parc

Forms

parc n (plural parcuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French parc,^[2][3][4][1] which is from Medieval Latin parricus (“enclosure”), recorded in the 8th-century Lex Ripuaria.^[5][6] The Medieval Latin word is either a borrowing from Frankish *parrik (“enclosure”) or its source.^[1] The DHLF derives it from Late Latin *parra (“pole, stake”), kept in Spanish parra.^[5] Marcu & Maneca compare Italian parco and German Park as well,^[7] and its other cognates include Spanish parque and Portuguese parque,^[6] and English park.^[8] Scriban notes that it has nothing to do with Latin parcus (“thrifty”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is from 1830, in a text it cites as CR.^[3] Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 still glosses the word with the French senses: a large enclosed tract for game or for woodland, a pasture for fattening cattle, a sheepfold, and the place where an army in the field keeps its artillery and supplies.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The garden sense, a large landscaped park, public or around a house, became the main one, and Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 glosses it “grounds, park, deer park”.^[11][4] The military sense of a depot for vehicles and materials led to the modern parc auto, both the car park and the whole fleet of vehicles of an enterprise, and to the installations of a mine or oil field.^[4][3] Newer set phrases are parc național and parc sportiv.^[4] MDA2 also records rare uses for a cemetery, a euphemism, and regionally for a sheepfold.^[3] From the French verb parquer came parca “to park”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1830 – the first record.^[3]
• 1870 – Costinescu glosses the military and hunting senses.^[10]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses it “park, deer park”.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A park, a large public area with trees, alleys and various buildings, laid out for recreation: parc național “national park”, parc sportiv “sports park”.^[4][3]
2. A fenced area where game is bred and kept for hunting.^[4][3]
3. The grounds of a building; an estate of houses with many green spaces.^[4][3]
4. A place where vehicles are parked or materials stored, and the vehicles and materials kept there; the whole fleet of vehicles of an enterprise or institution.^[4][3]
5. The mechanical installations of a mine or an oil field.^[4][3]
6. Parc electric: a central electricity distribution network.^[3][7]

Word family

• parca

Related words

• parchet
• French parc

Usage notes

Cihac listed a separate, older parc “piece, bit”, from a record speaking of parcele (pieces), and compared it with the South Slavic word for “piece”.^[12] DEX and MDA2 have no such word.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. parc
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 775
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6253
7. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. parc
8. ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 934
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 246
11. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 456
12. ^ a b Cihac, A. de (1879), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane II: Éléments slaves, magyars, turcs, grecs-moderne et albanais, Frankfurt am Main, p. 603