putină

Forms

putină f (plural putini)^[1]

Etymology

DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary take it as inherited from Vulgar Latin *putina, a reconstructed Latin form;^[2][3][1][4] Candrea, followed by the REW, traces it to Ancient Greek πυτίνη (putínē, “wicker-covered flask”).^[2][3][1][4] Ciorănescu calls the origin obscure: the word seems to point to the Greek one, but the route is unclear.^[4] Tiktin compares Old High German butinna, German Bütte (“tub”), and finds Latin transmission less likely on phonetic grounds.^[5] Diculescu took it straight from Greek;^[4][1] Pascu preferred a Latin *buttina from Latin buttis (“cask”).^[4][1] Ciorănescu rejects a Slavic origin, proposed by Cihac.^[4] The Greek word itself, with its variant βυτίνη (butínē), is probably Pre-Greek.^[1]

Ciorănescu gives Aromanian butin and Megleno-Romanian putină.^[4][6] Romanian lent the word to its neighbours: Hungarian putina, Serbo-Croatian putunja, Czech putina and Polish putnia.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1571, in a document listing goods left over, „noo putini de miiare” “nine tubs of honey”.^[5] MDA2's first record is the Anonymus Caransebesiensis, a Romanian–Latin glossary of about 1650–1700.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word names a wooden vessel of staves bound with hoops, usually shaped like a truncated cone, in which milk, cheese, pickles or fish are kept.^[2][3] By extension it is a barrel, a wooden bathtub, and in vine-growing regions the tub into which grapes are poured or trodden.^[3][8] The expression a spăla putina “to wash the tub” means “to slip away, to run off”;^[2][5][9] Tiktin quotes Alecsandri.^[2][5][9] A proverb says that the wolf and the fox meet in the tanner's tub, as all rogues end up in the same place.^[5]

Timeline

• 1571 – putini “tubs” of honey in a document, the first record.^[5]
• c. 1650–1700 – in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis.^[3]
• 1825 – putină and putonu in the Lexicon of Buda, glossed with Hungarian putton.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A wooden tub or vat of staves bound with hoops, usually shaped like a truncated cone, used for keeping cheese, pickles and the like.^[2][1]
2. By extension, a barrel.^[3][1]
3. (regional) A tub into which grapes are poured or trodden.^[3]

Word family

• putinei

Usage notes

A spăla (or a șterge) putina means “to run away, to slip off”: când a venit nota de plată, a spălat putina.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 902
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 609
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. putină
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. putină
6. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 243
7. ^ Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. putină
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1080
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, 641
10. ^ 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. 566