protest

Forms

protest n (plural proteste)^[1]

Etymology

Tiktin, MDA2, the DLR and NODEX give two sources: it is borrowed from New Latin protestum, and also borrowed from Italian protesto.^[2][3][4][5] Marcu and Maneca give only the Italian word, while Scriban gives French protêt and Italian protesta.^[6][7] DEX and Wiktionary make it a back-formation from the verb protesta.^[8][1] The verb itself is from Italian protestare and French protester according to MDA2;^[3][9] Tiktin adds Latin and Hungarian models.^[3][9] Tiktin records the noun in 1703, earlier than the verb (1728).^[2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a document of 1703, quoted by Tiktin, MDA2 and the DLR, with the old plural protesturi.^[2][3][4] The DLR places it under the sense “protest, opposition”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In 19th-century dictionaries the word is above all a commercial and legal term: Costinescu (1870) defines it as a declaration against someone who does not honour a bill of exchange when due, and the written document that records it, matching French protêt.^[10] Antonescu (1875) and Damé also render it with protêt.^[11][12] Barcianu (1886) adds “contradiction, objection”.^[13]

The general sense, a strong expression of disapproval of something felt to be unjust, is now the main one.^[8][3] Diplomacy uses notă de protest, a note in which a government objects to an act of another government that it considers contrary to treaties or international law.^[8][6]

Timeline

• 1703 – first record, with the plural protesturi.^[2][4]
• 1728 – the verb protesta.^[9]
• 1870 – Costinescu defines it as the protest of an unpaid bill.^[10]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses it “contradiction, objection” and German Protest.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A protest: a strong expression of disapproval of or opposition to something felt to be unjust; also the written act that expresses it: Studenții au ieșit în stradă în semn de protest. “The students took to the streets in protest.”^[8][3] Notă de protest: a diplomatic note of protest.^[8][14]
2. (law) A public act by which the courts record that a bill of exchange was not paid when due.^[8][3]

Related words

• protesta
• protestare

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. protest
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 576
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. protest
5. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. protest
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. protest
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1067
8. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 888
9. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. protesta
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 373
11. ^ Antonescu, G. M. (1875), Dictionariu romanu-francesu, Bucuresci: Typografia Curții (Lucrători Associați), p. 250
12. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. protest
13. ^ 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. 515
14. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. protest