pregăti

Forms

pregăti (third-person singular present pregătește, past participle pregătit) 4th conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian pre- + găti (“to make ready”), on the model of Latin praeparō (“to prepare”).^[2][3][1] Tiktin also names French préparer and German vorbereiten as models, and DEX gives the Latin or the German verb.^[2][4] găti is itself formed on gata (“ready”);^[5] MDA2 compares Albanian gatit.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to about 1800, in Budai-Deleanu's Țiganiada, where the trees cast long shadows „pregătind murgitului răcoare” “preparing coolness for the dusk”.^[2][3] MDA2 cites the same passage from the 1953 edition of the poem.^[6] The sense is “to make ready in advance”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the verb became common in prose: DLR quotes Mârcovici, Bălcescu, Kogălniceanu, Alecsandri and Creangă for “to prepare, arrange beforehand”, also of events that lead to others.^[3] Pontbriant glossed it in 1862 with French verbs for preparing, disposing and destining.^[7] Further senses grew from this one: to train or instruct someone, to coach a pupil, to prepare someone for unpleasant news, and to cook a meal.^[4][6] The reflexive means “to get ready” and, followed by another verb, “to be about to”.^[4][2]

Timeline

• c. 1800 – pregătind in Budai-Deleanu's Țiganiada, the first record.^[2][3]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary glosses it with French préparer and disposer.^[7]
• 1929 – Șăineanu glosses it as “to prepare (oneself)”.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To prepare or arrange something in advance, to make ready;^[4][6] a pregăti terenul “to prepare the ground, create favourable conditions”.^[4][6]
2. (reflexive) To get ready; to be about to do something.^[4][6]
3. To train or instruct someone for an activity; to coach a pupil;^[4][6] (also reflexive) to study thoroughly.^[4][6]
4. To warn someone of an unpleasant event, to break news gently.^[4]
5. To cook food or make a drink.^[4][9]

Word family

• pregătire
• pregătitor

Related words

• găti
• gata

Usage notes

MDA2 records a regional variant pregăta.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. pregăti
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pregăti
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 866
5. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 972
6. ^ 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, 516
7. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 575
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 506
9. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. pregăti