Etymology and origin of the Romanian word plumbar
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1818 Budai-Deleanu's Romanian–German lexicon More words from the 19th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin plumbum
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
plumbar m (plural plumbari)[1]
Etymology
It is formed from Romanian plumb + -ar, from plumb (“lead”) with the agent suffix.[2][3][1] Scriban also compares Latin plumbārius (“lead-worker”), and Wiktionary notes that the Romanian word corresponds to it.[4][1] The Latin word is itself formed on plumbum (“lead”).[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is in Ion Budai-Deleanu's Romanian–German lexicon (1818), for a worker who makes objects of lead.[2][3]
Semantic evolution
The word belongs to the dictionaries rather than to texts: the DLR knows it only from the lexicons of the 19th and early 20th centuries, from Budai-Deleanu to Barcianu, Alexi, Șăineanu and Scriban.[3] Polizu also gives a second sense, a man who seals parcels with a lead seal.[3][2] Barcianu glosses it with German Bleiarbeiter “lead-worker”, Damé with French plombier.[6][7] Scriban describes the worker who lays lead water pipes and zinc baths.[4]
Timeline
- 1818 – plumbar “lead-worker” in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon, the first record.[2]
- 1857 – Polizu adds the sense “man who seals parcels with lead”.[3]
- 1886 – Barcianu glosses it as German Bleiarbeiter.[6]
- 1939 – Scriban describes a plumber who works lead.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- (dated) A worker who makes objects of lead; a plumber.[2][3][1]
- (dated) A man who seals parcels with lead.[2][3]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 428
- ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. plumbar
- ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1001
- ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic
- ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État
Cite this entry
“Plumbar.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/plumbar. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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