record

Forms

record n (plural recorduri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French record, a sports term.^[2][3][4][1] DN names English record beside the French word, and Scriban and Graur take the French word from English.^[5][6][7]

French borrowed it in 1882 from the English noun, then meaning “recorded testimony”, which goes back to Old French record (“reminder, testimony”), from the verb recorder (“to report, recall”); the sports sense, an officially recorded feat, appears in French in 1883.^[8] Scriban traces the family to Latin recordor (“to remember”), and Graur lists it under cor (“heart”) with cord and cordial.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in dictionaries: Șăineanu's Dicționar universal gives it as a sports term, the quality of a competitor who surpasses the others, and MDA2 dates it from the 1930 edition of the same dictionary.^[9][3] The DLR quotes a new relay record from Scînteia of 1933.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the officially recognised best result in a sports competition the word passed to any top achievement in a field of activity.^[2][4] Two phrases grew from it: a bate recordul “to reach the highest point (in something)” and a ține or a deține un record “to hold a record, be unequalled”, which the DLR quotes from Caragiale, Sadoveanu and Preda.^[4][3] In the press of the late 20th century it became a second element of compounds meaning “record-level”: preț-record, producție-record, profit-record.^[10] Marcu records this use as an adjective.^[11]

Timeline

• 1882 – French borrows record from English.^[8]
• 1929 – in Șăineanu's dictionary, as a sports term.^[9]
• 1933 – a relay record in Scînteia.^[4]
• 1939 – in Scriban's dictionary, with examples such as recordul iuțelii “the speed record”.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A record: the best result officially recognised in a sports competition: A stabilit un nou record la săritura în lungime.^[2][1]
2. By extension, the highest achievement in any field;^[2][3] a bate recordul “to reach the highest point”, a deține un record “to be unequalled”.^[2][3]

Related words

• cord

Usage notes

After a noun it works as an adjective “record-level”, often hyphenated: preț-record, cifră-record.^[10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 930
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 671
4. ^ 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. record
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
6. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună
7. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc
10. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE)
11. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual