psihiatru

Forms

psihiatru m (plural psihiatri, feminine equivalent psihiatră)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French psychiatre (“psychiatrist”).^[2][3][4][1] The French word, recorded from 1802, is formed psych- and -iatre.^[1][5] The parts are Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) and ἰατρός (iatrós, “physician”).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR first quote it from Iuliu Barasch's book of 1853 on philanthropic institutions in Europe, which reports that in France psychiatrists have great faith in the healing power of vocal and instrumental music.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has not changed: a physician who specializes in mental illness.^[8][2] Early 20th-century dictionaries explain it through alienist: Șăineanu calls a psychiatrist a physician of the insane, and Scriban gives alienist and neurolog as near synonyms.^[9][7] In French, too, the physician of the mentally ill was long called aliéniste, and psychiatre stayed rare until the end of the 19th century.^[5]

The feminine psihiatră is rare, according to the DLR.^[3] The name of the discipline, psihiatrie, also a French loan, is first recorded by MDA2 later than the word for the doctor, in Barcianu's dictionary.^[2]

Timeline

• 1802 – French psychiatre.^[5]
• 1853 – psihiatrii “psychiatrists” in Iuliu Barasch, the first Romanian record.^[2][3]
• 1900 – psihiatrie in the third edition of Barcianu's dictionary.^[2]
• 1929 – Șăineanu defines it as a physician of the insane.^[9]
• 1939 – Scriban gives alienist as a synonym.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A psychiatrist: a physician who specializes in psihiatrie, the study and treatment of mental illness.^[8][2][1]

Related words

• psihiatrie
• psihic
• French psychiatre

Usage notes

It is pronounced with the vowels of -hi-a- in separate syllables.^[8][6] The plural is psihiatri, the feminine psihiatră with the plural psihiatre.^[8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 586
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. psihiatru
4. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. psihiatru
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. psihiatru
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1071
8. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 893
9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 522