putregai

Forms

putregai n (plural putregaiuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is a derivative from Romanian putred (“rotten”), with the ending of mucegai “mould”, which is formed on muced “mouldy”.^[2][3][4][5] Ciorănescu explains the ⟨g⟩ by that model, in place of the ⟨j⟩ of putrejune “rot”; he compares the series repezi, repejune, repeguș.^[3] DEX and NODEX call the word probably a blend of the adjective with the word for mould.^[6][7] Pușcariu had posited Vulgar Latin *pūtrīcus, an explanation that Ciorănescu finds insufficient.^[3] Wiktionary instead takes the word as inherited, from Vulgar Latin *putricālium.^[1]

The adjective continues Latin putridus (“rotten”), a Latin word that only Romanian has kept.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in Dosoftei's Parimiile of 1683, in a feminine form putregaie (Joel 2:20), which MDA2 glosses “smell of rot”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The usual sense is a rotten piece of wood or plant, and collectively a mass of rotting vegetable matter.^[2][6] Klein's dictionary (1801) glosses it with Latin putridus and phosphorus, and Costinescu (1870) defines it as rotten wood turned to tinder.^[9][10] It also names an old, worn-out object and a plant disease caused by fungi.^[4][6] Figuratively it is a contemptuous word for a feeble old man and for what is rotten and harmful in society.^[2][6][11] In popular speech it can mean the glow-worm.^[4]

Older texts have putrigai, and the Banat has a form in -gan’.^[2] Scriban derives Hungarian putregály from the Romanian word.^[12]

Timeline

• 1683 – putregaie in Dosoftei's Parimiile, the first record.^[2][4]
• 1801 – Putregáiu in Klein's dictionary.^[9]
• 1870 – putregaiŭ “rotten wood turned to tinder” in Costinescu.^[10]
• 1878 – putrigai “plant mould” in the Monitorul Oficial.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Rotten wood or plant matter; by extension a mass of decomposed vegetable matter, rot.^[6][4]
2. (figurative, derogatory) a feeble old man.^[6]
3. A plant disease caused by certain fungi.^[6]
4. (figurative) what is corrupt and harmful in society; scum.^[6][7]
5. (popular) the glow-worm (Lampyris noctiluca).^[4]

Word family

• putregăios

Related words

• putrezi
• putreziciune
• putred
• mucegai

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. putregai
3. ^ a b c d 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. putred
4. ^ 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, 610
5. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. putregai
6. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 902
7. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. putregai
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6877
9. ^ a b Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 428
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 387
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 642
12. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1080