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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word pur

pur1 sand leek

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1688 Transylvanian family name
Inherited from
Latin porrum
Ultimate origin
Latin porrum
Etymology tree of pur1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin porrum
Romanian por
Romanian pur

Pronunciation

Forms

pur m (plural puri)[1] MDA2 records the regional variants por and poriu, and an old neuter plural pure.[2]

Etymology

The word for the sand leek is inherited from Latin porrum (“leek”), with an unexpected /u/: Tiktin notes that this vowel is found nowhere else.[3][2][4][1] DEX gives the Latin word only with a “compare”.[4] The form por is the usual one, and Ciorănescu, citing Pușcariu and the REW, derives it from porrus, the masculine form; he calls it a popular word, used in Dâmbovița, and certainly inherited.[5][6]

The same Latin word gave Italian porro, Spanish puerro, Portuguese porro and French poireau, the French form with an unexplained /wa/.[6] The Latin word and Ancient Greek πράσον (práson) have mostly been explained as borrowings from a Mediterranean language, though both can also go back to one older form.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1688, from Pașca's study of personal names;[8] Constantinescu lists a Transylvanian family name Pura of that year.[3][8] As a plant name the word is in the Lexicon of Buda (1825), which gives it first for the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) and then for garden and wild leek.[9][2]

Semantic evolution

The name has been given to several wild and cultivated kinds of garlic and leek: besides the round-headed leek, MDA2 lists regional uses for the shallot, the leek, chives, wild garlic and crow garlic, and for two kinds of mullein.[2] Panțu's plant dictionary gives pur as the Moldavian name of the round-headed leek and also for the shallot, the leek and the sand leek.[10]

Timeline

  • 1688 – the Transylvanian family name Pura.[3][8]
  • 1825 – pur for the mullein and for leek in the Lexicon of Buda.[9][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. sand leek, round-headed leek (Allium rotundum): a wild plant of the garlic family with long narrow leaves and purple flowers in umbels.[4][2][1]
  2. (regional) Other kinds of wild or cultivated garlic: leek, shallot, chives.[2]
  3. (regional) Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus).[2][9]

pur2 pure

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1825 Lexicon de la Buda
Borrowed from
Latin purus
Ultimate origin
Latin pūrus
Etymology tree of pur2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pūrus
French pur
Romanian pur
Italian puro
Romanian pururi
Spanish puro
From the same root · pur2
Latin impūrus ← pūrus
Latin pūrē ← pūrus
Latin pūrgō ← pūrus
Latin pūrificō ← pūrus
Latin pūritās ← pūrus
Latin puriter ← pūrus
Latin pūrō ← pūrus

Pronunciation

Forms

pur m or n (feminine singular pură, masculine plural puri, feminine/neuter plural pure)[1]

Etymology

The adjective “pure” is a 19th-century borrowing, borrowed from Latin pūrus (“clean, pure”), borrowed from French pur, as DEX, MDA2 and the DLR give it.[4][2][11] Ciorănescu names only the French word and Tiktin gives Italian puro.[12][13] The neologism dictionaries also give both Latin and French.[14][15]

The Latin adjective goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ph₂ú-ro- (“clear, cleansed”), according to de Vaan.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Lexicon of Buda (1825) is the first record: it explains pur as “clean, unmixed, clear” and gives aur pur “pure gold”, vin pur “unmixed wine” and apă pură “clear water”.[9][2][13]

Semantic evolution

From “unmixed”, the adjective came to mean “unspoiled, spotless”, morally “chaste, innocent”, and “sheer, mere” (adevărul pur “the plain truth”).[4][16] The locution pur și simplu “simply, purely and simply” is very common.[4][13] Philosophy uses the word for what is detached from material reality.[14]

Timeline

  • 1825 – pur “clean, unmixed” in the Lexicon of Buda.[9][2][13]
  • 1848 – a coin of very pure gold, „de un aur foarte pur”.[11]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. pure, unmixed: containing nothing foreign.[4][2][1]
  2. Unspoiled, unpolluted; spotless, clear;[1] (figurative) morally chaste, innocent.[4]
  3. Genuine, true; mere, sheer.[4][1]
  4. (of a voice or sound) Clear, crystalline.[4]

Word family

  • impur
  • puritate
  • impuritate
  • purifica
  • purificator
  • purism
  • purist

Usage notes

Pur și simplu means “simply, just, nothing but”: A plecat pur și simplu, fără un cuvânt. “He simply left, without a word.”[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 602
  3. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. pur 1
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 899
  5. ^ 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. por
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6670
  7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ a b c Constantinescu, N. A. (1963), Dicționar onomastic romînesc, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. pur
  9. ^ a b c d e Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 563
  10. ^ Panțu, Zach. C. (1929), Plantele cunoscute de poporul român. Vocabular botanic cuprinzând numirile române, franceze, germane și științifice, 2nd ed., București: Editura Casei Școalelor, p. 238
  11. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. pur²
  12. ^ 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. pur
  13. ^ 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. pur 2
  14. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. pur
  15. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. pur
  16. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1077

Related etymologies

  • cap · also from French
  • dura · also from French
  • pană · also from French
  • pat · also from French
  • masă · also from French
  • lac · also from French
  • primar · also from French
  • susține · also from French
Cite this entry

“Pur.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/pur. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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