răzgândi

Forms

răzgândi (third-person singular present răzgândește, past participle răzgândit) 4th conjugation^[1] MDA2 records the variants resgândi and răsgândi.^[2] Creangă writes răsgândi: „de frică să nu se răsgîndească sfînta Duminecă” “for fear that Holy Sunday might change her mind”.^[3] Alecsandri has rezgândi: „Rezgândește-te bine” “think it over well”.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian răz- + gândi.^[5][3][4][1] MDA2 writes the prefix in its form răs-.^[2] Tiktin compares a Slavic verb made with the same prefix and with the same meaning.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1683, in a text of Dosoftei.^[4] MDA2 cites it first from Alecsandri's plays, where it serves mainly to strengthen a gândi “to think long and hard”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The reflexive a se răzgândi “to change one's mind, go back on a decision” is the usual one in 19th- and 20th-century prose, from Creangă, Vlahuță and Hogaș to Rebreanu, Sadoveanu and Camil Petrescu.^[3] The other sense, “to think something over well, deliberate”, mostly occurs together with a se gândi: Ispirescu has a hero walking along „gîndindu-se și răzgîndindu-se” “thinking and thinking again” how to do his task.^[6][5] The word is also used figuratively of spring “changing its mind” and putting off its arrival.^[3]

Timeline

• 1683 – first record, in a text of Dosoftei.^[4]
• 19th century – Alecsandri's plays, “to think over well”.^[2][4]
• late 19th century – Creangă's răsgândi “to change one's mind”.^[3]
• 1955–1957 – DLRLC gives both senses, quoting Ispirescu and Odobescu for the second.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive) To change one's mind, one's opinion or decision; to go back on a decision already taken: Voia să plece, dar s-a răzgândit.^[5][2][1]
2. (reflexive, with a se gândi) To think something over well; to deliberate at length.^[5][2]

Related words

• gând

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 653
3. ^ 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. răzgândi
4. ^ 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. răzgândi
5. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 921
6. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 690