politic

Forms

politic m or n (feminine singular politică, masculine plural politici, feminine/neuter plural politice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin polīticus, with Modern Greek πολιτικός (politikós) and French politique named as further sources.^[2][3][1] MDA2 and the DLR add German Politik, Politikus and politisch to these.^[4][5] Gáldi counts the noun “statesman” among the Greek loans of the Phanariote period.^[6] Gabinschi calls it a European loan that came through Latin from Greek, with French, German and Russian models.^[7]

The Latin adjective is from Ancient Greek πολιτικός (politikós, “of citizens, of the state”),^[8][1] from πολίτης (polítēs, “citizen”), from πόλις (pólis, “city, state”).^[9][10]

Scriban takes the old noun politică “politeness, ceremony, etiquette” from Russian политика (politika).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1682, in a print listed in the Bibliografia românească veche.^[3] Gáldi's first record of the noun “statesman” is Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică of 1705, and Tiktin quotes Cantemir for the wise politici whose rule does not yield to fear.^[6][3] MDA2's first record is in Constantin Cantacuzino's history of Wallachia: „Cum zice oarecare politic latin” “as a certain Latin statesman says”.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word was mostly a noun for a statesman, and as an adjective it often meant “shrewd, skilful in dealing with people”: Cantacuzino's history praises someone for being politic cu turcii, diplomatic with the Turks.^[5] The feminine noun politică meant ceremony, etiquette or settled custom in Gheorgachi's chronicle and in Pann.^[5] Negulici in 1848 still defines the adjective as learned in the art of governing, but also fine, skilful and prudent.^[12]

From the 1830s the press used it in the modern sense, of the state and its government: drepturi politice “political rights” in 1830, intrigă politică in 1836.^[5] The noun om politic “politician” replaced the bare noun, which DEX marks as obsolete.^[2] The sense “shrewd, diplomatic” survives: Scriban's example is fii politic! “be diplomatic!”, and Șăineanu glosses it as one who resorts to roundabout ways or pretence.^[11][13] In Muntenia it was said of affected, overly refined speech.^[14] As a neuter noun, politicul “the political” is a term of 20th-century political theory.^[5][2]

Timeline

• 1682 – first record, in an old print.^[3]
• 1705 – the noun politic “statesman” in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[6]
• c. 1716 – politic “statesman” and “diplomatic” in Constantin Cantacuzino's history of Wallachia.^[4][5]
• 1825 – Politicu “statesman” in the Lexicon of Buda.^[15]
• 1830 – drepturile politice “political rights” in the press.^[5]
• 1848 – Negulici defines it as skilled in governing, and as shrewd.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. political: belonging or relating to politică, to the state and its government: drepturi politice “political rights”, om politic “politician”.^[2][4]
2. Skilful in dealing with people, diplomatic or shrewd.^[2][11]

Noun

1. (obsolete) A statesman or politician.^[2][6]
2. (neuter) The political sphere, the political element of social life.^[2][5]

Related words

• politică
• politician
• Latin polīticus

Usage notes

DEX treats the noun politică “politics, policy” under the same headword.^[2] Nivel politic was a person's grounding in political questions, and economie politică is political economy.^[2][16]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 845
3. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. politic
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 455
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. politic
6. ^ a b c d Gáldi, Ladislas (1939), Les mots d'origine néo-grecque en roumain à l'époque des Phanariotes, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, p. 233
7. ^ Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 142
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
10. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
11. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1011
12. ^ a b 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. politic
13. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 494
14. ^ Marin, Maria; Mărgărit, Iulia, Glosar dialectal. Muntenia, București: Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti”, p. s.v. politic
15. ^ 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. 521
16. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. politic