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potrivit

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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word potrivit

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1679 Dosoftei More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Romanian potrivi

Pronunciation

  • /po.triˈvit/[1]

Forms

potrivit m or n (feminine singular potrivită, masculine plural potriviți, feminine/neuter plural potrivite)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle from Romanian potrivi (“to fit, arrange”), used as an adjective, as DEX, DLR, MDA2 and Tiktin give it.[2][3][4][5] The verb is formed on potrivă.[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record of the adjective is Dosoftei, in 1679.[5] Among DLR's early quotations is the chronicle of Gheorgachi, who mentions a carriage with six good horses „potriviți la toate” “matching in every way”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has two old senses side by side: “alike, matching”, said of a couple well suited to each other, and “suitable, fitting a purpose”.[3][2] The Pravila of 1814 speaks of a contract as „o potrivită voință între doi” “an agreed will between two parties”.[3] A third sense is “moderate, medium”: Tiktin quotes a reply to “strong or weak tea?”: „Potrivit” “medium”.[5][2] Cheie potrivită is a key fitted to someone else's lock, a skeleton key.[2]

Used as an adverb with cu and then with the dative, it came to mean “in accordance with”: Bălcescu writes „potrivit poruncilor cezarului” “according to the emperor's orders”.[5][2]

Timeline

  • 1679 – the adjective in Dosoftei, Tiktin's first record.[5]
  • 1814 – potrivită voință “agreed will” in the Pravila.[3]
  • 19th century – potrivit with the dative, “according to”, in Bălcescu.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having qualities in common with someone or something; well matched, in harmony with: o pereche potrivită.[2][1]
  2. suitable, appropriate, well chosen.[2][1]
  3. Arranged, set in order.[2] Cheie potrivită: a key made to open someone else's lock.[2]
  4. moderate, medium, neither too much nor too little: Apa trebuie să fie potrivit de caldă.[2][5]

Preposition

  1. (with the dative, or with cu) according to, in accordance with: potrivit legii.[2][1][6]

Word family

  • nepotrivit
  • potrivi
  • potrivire
  • împotrivi

Usage notes

DEX has a separate neuter noun potrivit (DEX potrivit¹) “arranging, setting in order”, also from potrivi and first recorded in Ion Pas in 1949.[2][3][4] The negative is nepotrivit.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 857
  3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. potrivit
  4. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 491
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. potrivit
  6. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1027
Cite this entry

“Potrivit.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/potrivit. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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