pompier

Forms

pompier m (plural pompieri)^[1] MDA2 records a popular variant pomper and a corrupted form pompiar.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French pompier.^{[3][2][1][4][5]} The French word is formed from pompe (“pump”) with the suffix -ier.^[1]

The rare adjective “bombastic” follows the French word used as a term of art slang, first recorded in 1880 in Théodore de Banville for the emphatic paintings of the school of David.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Negulici's vocabulary of 1848, which explains the word as one who makes or works the pumps to put out a fire.^[7][2] The DLR quotes a text of 1848 on the nightly rounds of șeful pompierilor “the chief of the firemen”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word replaced older names of the fireman, pojarnic and tulumbagiu, which MDA2 marks as regional and obsolete.^[2][8] Scriban notes that in Romania artillery officers and soldiers did this duty until 1 April 1910.^[8] In the plural it names the fire brigade as a unit.^[2][5] DEX 2009 records an obsolete sense, a man who sprinkled the streets with water, and the rare adjective for a bombastic style.^[3]

Timeline

• 1848 – pompier in Negulici's vocabulary, the first record.^[7][2]
• 1848 – șeful pompierilor in a text quoted by the DLR.^[5]
• 1880 – French pompier “bombastic” first recorded, in Banville.^[6]
• 1910 – the duty passes from the artillery to a separate fire service, according to Scriban.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A firefighter, a member of a military or civil corps trained and equipped to put out fires; in the plural, the fire brigade.^[3][2]
2. (obsolete) A man who sprinkled the streets and pavements with water.^[3]

Adjective

1. (rare, invariable, of style) Bombastic, pompous.^[3][1]

Related words

• pompă
• pompieristic
• French pompier

Usage notes

MDA2 has a second, obsolete pompier “pump maker”, formed in Romanian from pompă with the suffix -ier and also recorded in Negulici.^[2] The phrase muncă de pompier is used colloquially of work done in a hurry.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 462
3. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 847
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. pompier
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pompier
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ 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. 319
8. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1014