rechin

Forms

rechin m (plural rechini)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French requin.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French word is recorded from 1529 and its origin is disputed.^[6] Spellings such as ⟨requiem⟩ reflect an old explanation from requiem, the prayer said for the dead, which DHLF takes for a folk etymology.^[6] Bloch and Wartburg derive it from Norman quin (“dog”) with a strengthening prefix re-, comparing the old name chien de mer (“sea dog”) for a shark;^[6] P. Guiraud starts from a Norman form of rechigner (“to bare one's teeth”).^[6] Scriban already called the French word of uncertain origin.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Damé's Romanian–French dictionary of 1893–1895 lists the word with its French model.^[8][5] The DLR's first quotation is from Caragiale, reporting that sharks had appeared near Abbazia.^[5] MDA2's year 1930 is that of the edition of Caragiale's works it cites.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the fish, the word soon named a greedy, unscrupulous person: Scriban's dictionary of 1939 already gives both.^[7] The DLR quotes Cezar Petrescu, who calls a profiteer “one of your sharks” sent “to swallow in our waters too”.^[5] Prison slang has used it for a policeman, a prosecutor, a hardened repeat offender and an inmate with authority from his long time inside.^[9]

Timeline

• 1893–1895 – in Damé's Romanian–French dictionary.^[8]
• 1929 – Șăineanu describes it as a large, voracious sea fish.^[10]
• 1939 – Scriban gives the figurative sense “ferocious, voracious person”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. shark: in the plural, a genus of predatory sea fish with a cartilaginous skeleton, rough small scales, an uneven two-lobed tail and five gill slits on each side of the head; in the singular, one such fish;^[4][3] rechin albastru: the blue shark.^[4][3]
2. (figurative) A greedy, grasping person without scruples: rechinii de pe piața imobiliară “the sharks of the property market”.^[4][11]
3. (slang) A policeman; a prosecutor; a hardened repeat offender; a prisoner with authority from long years inside.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. rechin
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 667
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 928
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. rechin
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1105
8. ^ a b Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. 2
9. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. rechin
10. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 538
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. rechin