Etymology and origin of the Romanian word religios
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Borrowing
- First attested
- 1818 Naum Petrovici's translation of Villaume's ''Pedagoghia'' More words from the 19th century
- Borrowed from
- Latin religiosus
- Ultimate origin
- Latin religio
Etymology tree
Pronunciation
- /ˌre.li.d͡ʒiˈos/[1]
Forms
religios m or n (feminine singular religioasă, masculine plural religioși, feminine/neuter plural religioase)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Latin religiōsus, borrowed from French religieux, borrowed from German religiös, as MDA2 and the Academy dictionary give it;[2][3] DEX names borrowed from Italian religioso instead of German,[4][5] and Tiktin and Scriban give Latin alone.[6][7] Wiktionary also allows a Romanian formation from religie with the suffix -os.[1] The Latin word is formed of religiō (“conscientiousness; religion”) and -ōsus.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is of 1818, in Naum Petrovici's Romanian version of Villaume's book on pedagogy, in the spelling relighios, “religious, of religion”.[2][3][6]
Semantic evolution
The pronunciation relighios of the first records gave way to religios by the middle of the century;[3][8] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 lists it.[3][8] Besides “of religion” it soon meant “devout, pious”, and Șăineanu records a figurative “scrupulous, exact” (observator religios al legilor).[9][10] As a noun it is a rare, bookish word for a monk or nun.[2][11]
Timeline
- 1818 – relighios in Petrovici's translation of Villaume.[2][3]
- 1828 – relighioase in a document printed in the Uricariul.[3]
- 1848 – listed by Negulici.[8]
- 1870 – “exact, faithful” in Costinescu.[10]
Meanings
Adjective
- Of or relating to religion; churchly: muzică religioasă, slujbă religioasă.[4][2]
- pious, devout.[4]
- (figurative) scrupulous, exact.[9]
Noun
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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, 686
- ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. religios
- ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 940
- ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. religios
- ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. religiós
- ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1114
- ^ a b c 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. religios
- ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 543
- ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 423
- ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. religios
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Religios.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/religios. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.
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