refuza

Forms

refuza (third-person singular present refuză, past participle refuzat) 1st conjugation^[1] MDA2 records the older spelling refusa.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French refuser (“to refuse”), as all the dictionaries agree.^{[3][2][4][5][1]}

The French verb, recorded from the late 11th century, goes back to Vulgar Latin *refūsō (“to push back”), a blend of Latin recūsō (“to reject”) and refūtō (“to repel, refute”); a derivation from refūsus, the past participle of refundō, is thought less likely.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and Tiktin date the first record to 1831, with the sense “to reject, decline”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Besides declining what is offered, the verb came to mean withholding what is asked and denying oneself something.^[3][2] Reflexively it means “to get out of, evade” something.^[5][2] Sailors use it intransitively of a wind that veers towards the bow.^[7]

Timeline

• 1831 – the first record.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To refuse, reject: not to accept what is offered.^[3][1]
2. Not to give what is asked for; not to agree to something or to be willing to do it.^[3]
3. (with the dative) To deny oneself something, to renounce it.^[3]
4. (reflexive) To evade, to shirk.^[5][2]
5. (nautical) Of the wind: to veer towards the bow of a ship.^[7]

Related words

• French refuser

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 678
3. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 935
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. refuza
5. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. refuza
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. refuza