participa

Forms

participa (third-person singular present participă, past participle participat) 1st conjugation^[1] Hasdeu used the rare variant partecipa.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French participer, with Latin participō (“to share, take part”) as a second source.^[4][3][2][1] The Latin verb comes from particeps (“sharing in”), from pars (“part”) and capiō (“to take”).^[5] Pontbriant gave the Latin verb as its source in 1862.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Heliade's translation of Byron's Don Juan (1847).^[3][2] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 has participare with the senses “to take part” and “to share in the nature of something”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to share in the nature of something”, which Negulici and Șăineanu gave (the mule participă of the horse and of the donkey), did not last; the verb now means “to take part”, construed with la.^[7][8][2] Hasdeu wrote that Romania, between Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria, shared in the trade of all these regions.^[2] Two other senses are taking part in an economic venture with money or goods, and sharing in another's feelings: „la cele ce suferi tu, participăm și noi” “we share in what you suffer” (Camil Petrescu).^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1847 – Heliade's Don Juan, the first record.^[3][2]
• 1848 – participare in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[7]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary, with French participer and prendre part.^[6]
• 19th century – partecipa in Hasdeu.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, with la) To take part in an activity, an action or a discussion; to participate: A participat la concurs.^[4][3][1]
2. To take part in an economic venture by contributing money or goods; to contribute.^[4][3]
3. To share in someone's feelings or state of mind; to feel solidarity with someone.^[4][3]

Related words

• parte
• participiu
• French participer

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. participa
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 275
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 778
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 529
7. ^ a b c 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. participare
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 466