provocare

Forms

provocare f (plural provocări)^[1]

Etymology

It is the long infinitive of the verb, formed from Romanian provoca + -re.^[1][2][3][4] The verb provoca is a borrowing of provoquer and prōvocō (“to call forth, challenge”).^[3] Its recent sense “challenge, a hard but stimulating task” follows the English word challenge.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the DLR's first quotations are Barițiu's history of Transylvania, where Romanians are „provocați la arme” and answer such „provocări” of their own will, and a calendar of 1859 that tells of a challenge to single combat.^[6] MDA2 dates Barițiu's text by its 1889 edition.^[3] The early sense was a call to fight or to a contest.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The DLR gives two main senses: incitement or defiance, and a call or summons to a contest, a fight or a duel.^[6] Pontbriant in 1862 glosses it with French “provocation, défi”.^[7] Legal language made a term of it for bringing someone, by violence or insult, into a state in which they commit an offence.^[3][8] In medicine it is the deliberate bringing on of an illness or an abortion.^[8][9] Since the 1990s the press has used it for a difficult and stimulating task, a calque of English usage noted by R. Zafiu, and slang has the same sense.^[5][10]

Timeline

• 1859 – a challenge to fight in a calendar.^[6]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary: “provocation, défi”.^[7]
• 1889 – provocări in the edition of Barițiu's history.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. provocation: the act of provoking and its result; incitement by an act of defiance or a shocking gesture.^[2][3]
2. (law) The act of driving someone, by violence or insult, into a state in which they commit an offence.^[3][8]
3. A challenge: a call to a fight, a duel or a contest.^[3][9]
4. The deliberate bringing about of an event or process, especially of an illness for treatment.^[3][8]
5. A difficult but stimulating task that tests one's abilities.^[5][10]

Related words

• provocator
• provocație

Usage notes

Provocație is a rare synonym with the same senses.^[3][2] The game “truth or dare” is adevăr sau provocare.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 890
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 580
4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. provocare
5. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. provocare
6. ^ 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. provocare
7. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 594
8. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. provocare
9. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 611
10. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. provocare