problemă

Forms

problemă f (plural probleme)^[1] Older forms were provlimă and provlemă and a masculine problem;^[2][3] provnimă is regional.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French problème, with Latin problēma as a second source;^[2][3] Tiktin and MDA2 also name German Problem.^[6][4][5] The neologism dictionaries give French, Latin and Greek, an example of the multiple etymologies of Romanian lexicography.^[2][3] The Latin word comes from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “obstacle; a question put forward”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw before”).^[1][7]

The older provlimă is a separate borrowing from Modern Greek πρόβλημα (próvlima), so the two are doublets.^[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică of 1705, and MDA2 cites the same work.^[5][4] Scriban notes that about 1800 the word was provlimă, meaning a proposal or a lawsuit.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the Greek-influenced language of the late 18th and early 19th centuries provlimă meant a proposal and, in the Caragea law code, a cause or lawsuit.^[5][4] The modern form, re-borrowed from French and Latin, means a question to be solved, a task in mathematics and, figuratively, a puzzle;^[9] Eminescu wrote of problema astei vieți “the problem of this life”.^[5][9]

Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 glosses it with German Aufgabe and Problem.^[10] The press compound problemă-cheie “key problem” followed French problème-clé.^[11]

Timeline

• 1705 – in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică, the first record.^[5][4]
• c. 1800 – the Greek form provlimă “proposal; lawsuit”.^[9]
• 1886 – problemă “task, problem” in Barcianu.^[10]
• 1973 – problemă-cheie “key problem” in the press.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A question with unclear or debatable aspects that needs to be cleared up.^[6][1]
2. An important matter that calls for a solution.^[6]
3. The subject of someone's research or concern; a topic.^[6]
4. (mathematics) A task in which a result must be found by calculation or reasoning from given data.^[6][1]
5. A difficulty that must be overcome; an impasse.^[6]
6. Something hard to understand or explain; a mystery.^[6]
7. (obsolete) A proposal, (regional, as provlimă) a lawsuit.^[4]

Related words

• provlimă

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. problemă
3. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. problemă
4. ^ 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, 556
5. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. problemă
6. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 879
7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
8. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. problemă
9. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1056
10. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 510
11. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. problemă