recepție

Forms

recepție f (plural recepții)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French réception, with Latin receptio (“a receiving”) as a second model: DEX, DILF and the neologism dictionaries name both.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary gives only the French word,^[1] and NODEX names French and German Rezeption.^[6]

French took the word, first as Old French receptiun around 1200, from the Latin noun, the action noun of recipiō (“to receive”).^[7] The Latin verb is formed from re- (“back”) and capiō (“to take, hold”).^[1] Graur groups the Romanian word with accepta, concepție, percepție and rețetă, the learned words of that Latin family.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 has the word, spelled in the transitional alphabet, as the act by which one receives or welcomes someone.^[9] MDA2 takes its first record from Alecsandri's plays, in the sense of a ceremonious welcome given to a guest.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The oldest sense, the formal welcome of a guest, is now dated.^[2] The French word had already gone from receiving a person to the ceremony admitting someone into a society (1418) and to a gathering of guests (1830).^[7] Romanian has these senses too: the admission of a new member to an academy, with discurs de recepție for the speech the new member gives, and a festive gathering in official circles.^[10][2]

In the 20th century the word gained technical senses: the taking over of materials or of a finished work after checking them, with comisie de recepție “acceptance commission”, and the receiving of energy or of radio signals.^[11][10] The hotel desk that registers guests is the newest sense.^[10][4] An older variant, recepțiune, was used in the 19th century.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms, “the act of receiving someone”.^[9]
• 19th century – the variant recepțiune “ceremonious welcome”.^[11]
• 1875 – in Alecsandri's plays, in the edition of his collected works, MDA2's first record.^[10]
• 1955 – the technical senses “taking over of materials” and “receiving of energy” in DLRLC.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The acceptance of materials or of a finished work after checking their quantity and quality.^[2][3]
2. The reception desk of a hotel, which keeps the register of guests and gives out the rooms.^[2][10]
3. (technical) The receiving of a form of energy, such as radio or television signals, to turn it into another form.^[2][10]
4. A festive gathering or banquet, especially in official circles: o recepție la ambasadă “a reception at the embassy”.^[2][6]
5. (dated) The ceremonious welcome of a guest.^[2]
6. The admission of someone as a member of a society or academy;^[2][10] discurs de recepție, the speech a newly elected academician gives.^[2][10]

Related words

• recepționa
• recipient
• Latin receptio

Usage notes

The variant recepțiune is dated.^[10] In the technical sense of taking over goods and of receiving signals, the long infinitive recepționare is a synonym.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 927
3. ^ a b Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
6. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
9. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
10. ^ 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, 667
11. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 698