Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word remarcabil

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1846 More words from the 19th century
Borrowed from
French remarquable
Ultimate origin
French remarquer

Forms

remarcabil m or n (feminine singular remarcabilă, masculine plural remarcabili, feminine/neuter plural remarcabile)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French remarquable.[2][3][4][5][1] The DLR sends it to remarca, and Wiktionary notes that it can be analysed as that verb with the suffix -bil.[6][1]

The French adjective is formed on remarquer (“to notice”) with the suffix -able.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1846: a report to the Royal Academy of Medicine on the plague is called foarte remarcabil “very remarkable”.[6][2] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 explains it with Latin notabilis and Romanian însemnat, considerabil.[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense has stayed close to the French: “worthy of notice”, then “outstanding, distinguished”, often of talents and personalities.[6][3] Scriban notes the adverbial use, as in remarcabil înzestrat “remarkably gifted”.[5] NODEX also records the literal “that can be noticed”.[8]

Timeline

  • 1846 – first record, of a medical report.[2][6]
  • 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of new words.[7]
  • 1870 – Costinescu defines it as “to be noticed”.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. remarkable, worthy of notice; outstanding, distinguished; deosebit, însemnat.[3][2][1]
  2. (rare) That can be noticed.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 687
  3. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 941
  4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. remarcabil
  5. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1115
  6. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. remarcabil
  7. ^ 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. remarcabil
  8. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. remarcabil
  9. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 424

Related etymologies

  • cap · also from French
  • dura · also from French
  • pur · also from French
  • pană · also from French
  • pat · also from French
  • masă · also from French
  • lac · also from French
  • primar · also from French
Cite this entry

“Remarcabil.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/remarcabil. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·