profesional

Forms

profesional m or n (feminine singular profesională, masculine plural profesionali, feminine/neuter plural profesionale)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French professionnel, the source that MDA2, DLR, DEX and the neologism dictionaries all give.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Within Romanian it can be analysed as profesiune with the suffix -al, and Scriban names both the Romanian noun and the French adjective.^[1][6] The French word is formed profession with the suffix -el.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and DLR cite the first record from Gheorghe Asachi's report on the state of public education in Moldavia for the school year 1839–1840, printed at Iași in 1841, which speaks of giving young people „o creștere profesională” “a professional upbringing”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the sense "relating to a profession" Romanian built set phrases of law, medicine and schooling: secret profesional “professional secrecy”, boală profesională “occupational disease” and învățământ profesional “vocational training”.^[4][3][7] In the early 20th century a școală profesională was a school where girls learned a trade, which Scriban thought should rather be called a craft.^[6]

In the 20th century the word also came into use as an adverb, "in the manner of a professional", as in Camil Petrescu and Călinescu.^[3]

Timeline

• 1841 – creștere profesională in Asachi's report on the schools of Moldavia.^[2][3]
• 1893–1895 – listed in Damé's dictionary with French professionnel.^[8]
• 1929 – Șăineanu's dictionary gives the sense “where trades are taught”: școală profesională.^[9]
• 1939 – Scriban records a rare noun use, a person who practises a trade, as opposed to an amateur.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to or connected with a profession (professional): experiență profesională “professional experience”.^[4][3][1]
2. In set phrases: secret profesional, information a person learns through their work and may not disclose;^[4][7] învățământ profesional, the training of skilled workers;^[4][7] boală profesională, an occupational disease.^[4][7]
3. (as an adverb) With the practised ease of a professional: a zâmbit profesional “she smiled professionally”.^[4][3]

Related words

• profesionalism
• profesie
• profesiune
• profesionist

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 561
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. profesional
4. ^ 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. 881
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
6. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1059
7. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. profesional
8. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 516