prioritate

Forms

prioritate f (plural priorități)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French priorité.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Scriban took it instead from Medieval Latin prioritas.^[7] The French word was itself borrowed in 1377 from the same Medieval Latin word, meaning “precedence”, a 13th-century derivative of Latin prior (“former, first of two”).^[8] Pontbriant's dictionary of 1862 already notes the Latin comparative behind it.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is Negulici's vocabulary of 1848, which defines it as being first in time or in rank, pre-eminence.^[2][10] The periodical Isis used it in 1859 for the pride of being first.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the double sense of the French: being first in time, and being first in importance or rank.^[6][3] Costinescu in 1870 also records the parliamentary use, the right of a speech or motion to be heard before another.^[11] Law gave it the sense of a creditor's right to be paid first, and a patent holder's right of priority.^[2] In traffic, prioritate de trecere is the right of way at an uncontrolled crossing.^[3][12]

Timeline

• 1848 – first record, in Negulici's vocabulary.^[2][10]
• 1859 – in the periodical Isis.^[6]
• 1862 – in Pontbriant's Romanian–French dictionary.^[9]
• 1869 – Barițiu gives it for Hungarian elsőbbség.^[13]
• 1870 – Costinescu adds the parliamentary sense.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. priority: the quality of coming first in time; the right to first place in importance, value or rank, întâietate, precedence.^[3][1]
2. prioritate de trecere: right of way at a crossing without signals.^[3]
3. (law) A creditor's right to be paid before other creditors; an inventor's right of priority for a registered patent or trademark.^[2]

Usage notes

It is pronounced in four syllables, pri-o-.^[3] The phrase cu prioritate means “above all, chiefly”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 547
3. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 876
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. prioritate
5. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. prioritate
6. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. prioritate
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1052
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci
12. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. prioritate
13. ^ Barițiu, George (1869), Dictionariu unguresc-romanescu, Brașov, p. 140