pepene

Forms

pepene m (plural pepeni)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pepo (“a kind of large melon”), through a stem in ⟨-in-⟩, Vulgar Latin *pepinem, instead of the classical stem in ⟨-ōn-⟩.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} REW lists such a form among the Latin glosses.^[6] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek πέπων (pépōn, “ripe”),^[7][1] which Beekes derives from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, ripen”).^[8] A stressed Latin short /e/ would normally give Romanian /je/, so ⟨piepene⟩ would be expected;^[2][5][9] Ciorănescu, Tiktin and Candrea–Densusianu note that the missing diphthong has not been explained.^[2][5][9]

South of the Danube the word is Aromanian peapine^[10][11][2] and Megleno-Romanian pipon.^[2] REW takes the Megleno-Romanian form and the Aromanian variant with ⟨-on-⟩ from Modern Greek πεπόνι (pepóni) instead.^[6] Ciorănescu compares Italian pepone, Spanish pepino and Portuguese pepino “cucumber”, and Albanian pjepër.^[2][5] He finds a derivation of the Romanian word from the Modern Greek one, which Miklosich proposed, no less difficult than the Latin etymology.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1538.^[5] A Wallachian personal name Peapene is recorded in 1598.^[12] In the Bucharest Bible of 1688, Numbers 11:5 names „crastaveții și peapenii” “the cucumbers and the melons”, translating Greek τοὺς πέπονας.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The word names two cultivated plants and their fruit: the melon (Cucumis melo), usually specified as pepene galben “yellow melon”, and the watermelon (Citrullus), pepene verde “green melon”.^[4][3][5] In Moldavia the melon is zămos and the watermelon harbuz, and there pepene has meant the cucumber, as in Transylvania and Bucovina.^[5][2][13] Regional glossaries also record the sense “pumpkin”.^[4][14]

Idioms built on the fruit include a-și ieși din pepeni “to lose one's patience” and the proverb doi pepeni într-o mână nu se pot ține “you cannot hold two melons in one hand”.^[5][4] Derivatives include pepenar “melon seller” and pepenărie “melon field”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1538 – the first record, according to Tiktin.^[5]
• 1598 – Peapene, a Wallachian personal name.^[12]
• 1688 – peapenii “the melons” in the Bucharest Bible (Numbers 11:5).^[5][3]
• 1801 – pépene, glossed with Latin pepo, in Klein's dictionary.^[15]
• 1825 – pepene in the Lexicon de la Buda, with Latin pepo, melo and Hungarian dinnye.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. The melon (Cucumis melo), a creeping plant of the gourd family with a large, sweet, fragrant fruit; usually pepene galben.^[4][3][1]
2. The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), with a green rind and juicy red flesh; usually pepene verde.^[4][3][1]
3. The fruit of either plant.^[4][3]
4. (regional) A pumpkin.^[4][14]
5. (regional, Moldavia, Transylvania) A cucumber.^[4][5][1]

Word family

• pepenar
• pepenărie
• pepenaș

Related words

• Aromanian peapine
• Latin pepo

Usage notes

The plural is pepeni.^[4] Fixed expressions: a-și ieși din pepeni “to lose one's patience”, a scoate pe cineva din pepeni “to drive someone mad”, gras ca un pepene “very fat” and a ieși la pepeni “to make a bad bargain”.^[4][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. pepene
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, 340
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 800
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. pepene
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6395
7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. 223
10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 835
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Constantinescu, N. A. (1963), Dicționar onomastic romînesc, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. pepene
13. ^ Panțu, Zach. C. (1929), Plantele cunoscute de poporul român. Vocabular botanic cuprinzând numirile române, franceze, germane și științifice, 2nd ed., București: Editura Casei Școalelor, p. 217
14. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. pepene
15. ^ Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 416
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. 496