Etymologically

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
inherited borrowed derived
Latin religiō
Romanian religie
Latin religiōsus
Romanian religios
From the same root
English religion ← religiō
Latin religiose ← religiōsus

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

  1. Of or relating to religion; churchly: muzică religioasă, slujbă religioasă.[4][2]
  2. pious, devout.[4]
  3. (figurative) scrupulous, exact.[9]

Noun

  1. (rare, literary) A monk or nun.[2][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 940
  5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. religios
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1114
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 543
  10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 423
  11. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. religios

Related etymologies

  • casă · also from German
  • pas · also from German
  • lac · also from German
  • rută · also from German
  • arie · also from German
  • laț · also from German
  • must · also from German
  • telefon · also from German
Cite this entry

“Religios.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/religios. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·