Etymology and origin of the Romanian word plămânărică
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1879 Brândză's Prodromul florei române More words from the 19th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin pulmō
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
plămânărică f (plural plămânărici)[1] Regional forms are plămănărică, plumânărică, plumărică, plumunărică, pulmănărică and pulmnărică, and an old one is plemânărică;[2] DEX also gives plămânărea and plumânărică.[3][4]
Etymology
It is formed from Romanian plămân (“lung”) + -ărică, with a diminutive suffix, after the plant's use against lung diseases, as DEX and Wikționar give it.[4][2] MDA2 instead forms it from Romanian plămânare + -ică, another folk name of the plant, recorded from 1825.[3][3] Wiktionary allows both, and notes that ⟨plămânare⟩ may itself go back to Latin pulmōnārius or pulmōnāria.[1] The noun plămân is from Latin pulmōnem (“lung”).[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is Brândză's Prodromul florei române, a list of the plants of Moldavia and Wallachia, of 1879.[3]
Semantic evolution
The name is a folk name of the lungwort, Pulmonaria officinalis, also called cuscrișor;[5] MDA2 also gives it for the soft lungwort, Pulmonaria mollissima.[3][4] Panțu records it in the Banat, beside plumânărică and plumânărea in Transylvania, and gives the French and German names of the plant, pulmonaire and Lungenkraut.[5]
Timeline
- 1825 – plămânare in the Lexicon de la Buda.[3]
- 1879 – plămânărică in Brândză's flora.[3]
- 1929 – Panțu records the Banat and Transylvanian forms.[5]
Meanings
Noun
- (botany) lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis): a herb with a horizontal rhizome, rough hairs and red, violet or rarely white flowers, growing in woods and shady places.[4][6][1]
- (rare) Soft lungwort (Pulmonaria mollissima).[3]
Related words
- plămân
- plămânare
- cuscrișor
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 411
- ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 830
- ^ a b c 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. 81
- ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 455
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Plămânărică.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/pl%C4%83m%C3%A2n%C4%83ric%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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