refuz

Forms

refuz n (plural refuzuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French refus (“refusal”), borrowed in the 1830s together with the verb refuza.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Șăineanu took the noun for a back-formation from the verb instead.^[6] The French noun goes back to Old French and is formed on the verb refuser;^[7] the verb comes from Vulgar Latin *refūsō, a blend of Latin refūtō and recūsō.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Iordache Golescu's Condica of 1832, which also has the old plural refuze.^[4] MDA2 cites the same author.^[3] The DLR quotes a newspaper of 1846 on a prince who did not know the real reason for a refusal.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Negulici's dictionary of 1848 spells it refus and explains it as not accepting.^[8] The spelling with s lasted into the second half of the century, in Ghica and Slavici.^[5] Șăineanu labels the phrase a trata cu refuz “to turn someone down” as familiar.^[6][9] The phrase până la refuz means “to the limit, until nothing more fits”.^[2] In technology the word took the senses of the material left on a sieve and of a casting defect.^[2][10]

Timeline

• 1831 – the verb refuza.^[3][11]
• 1832 – refuz, plural refuze, in Golescu's Condica.^[4]
• 1846 – refuzul in a newspaper.^[5]
• 1848 – refus in Negulici's dictionary.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. refusal: the fact of refusing; non-acceptance, rejection: A primit un refuz politicos. “He got a polite refusal.”^[2][3]
2. până la refuz: to the limit, until nothing more fits: sala era plină până la refuz “the hall was packed”.^[2][3]
3. (technology) The material left on a sieve or screen after sifting or sorting.^[2]
4. (technology) A fault in the working of a technical system.^[2]
5. (metallurgy) A casting defect: cavities left where the mould was not filled with molten metal.^[2][3]

Related words

• refuza

Usage notes

The noun refuz is also the first person singular of the verb: refuz “I refuse”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 935
3. ^ 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, 678
4. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. refúz
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. refúz
6. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 541
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ 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, p. s.v. refuz
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1111
10. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. refuz
11. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. refuzá