Etymologically

plămânărică

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
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pulmō
French poumon
Romanian plămân
Romanian plămânărică
From the same root
Latin pulmōnārius ← pulmō

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

  1. (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]
  2. (rare) Soft lungwort (Pulmonaria mollissima).[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 830
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ 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

  • apă · also from Latin
  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Plămânărică.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/pl%C4%83m%C3%A2n%C4%83ric%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·