replică

Forms

replică f (plural replici)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French réplique and Italian replica, the two models Wiktionary and Scriban name.^[1][2] MDA2, DLR and Tiktin give the French word together with a Latin replica, and the neologism dictionaries add the French form as the source of the sense “copy”.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

The French noun is a deverbal of répliquer,^[1] which French borrowed in 1226 from Latin replicō (“to fold back”); in Late Latin the verb was a legal term for answering an objection.^[8] The Italian noun was formed on replicare.^[1][9] DELI dates its sense “what is repeated” before 1543 and its sense “objection” before 1642.^[9] The Latin verb is formed from re- and plicō (“to fold”).^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1787, a legal text cited under the siglum RÂND JUD^[5] DLR quotes it: the answer the plaintiff gives to the defendant's objection „să numește replica” “is called the replica”, a term of court procedure.^[4][3] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 defines it as a spoken or written answer to what has been said.^[11]

Semantic evolution

The word started in the law courts, as the plaintiff's answer to the defendant, and DLR records the phrase a da or a vorbi în replică “to answer in a debate, rebutting the other side”, with a rare old verb a replicălui.^[4][3] From there it became any quick answer that rebuts what someone has said, and fără replică “beyond reply” means final.^[12][13]

In the theatre it is the actor's line that answers a partner; Șăineanu's dictionary defines it as an actor's last words before the other speaks, and Barcianu glosses it with German cue-word as early as 1886.^[14][15][2] Later senses follow the French and English models: a copy of a work of art, with press records from 1976, and an aftershock, recorded after the earthquake of March 1977.^[7][6]

Timeline

• 1787 – first record, as a term of court procedure.^[5][4]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms, “an answer to what has been said”.^[11]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses it as a rejoinder and as an actor's cue.^[15]
• 1976 – “copy of a work of art” in the press.^[7]
• 1977 – “aftershock” in reports on the March earthquake.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A quick, firm retort to what someone has said;^[12][3] fără replică “beyond reply, final”;^[12][3] a fi tare în replici “to be quick with an answer”.^[12][3]
2. (theatre) An actor's line answering a partner; also the closing words of a speech, which call for the other's reply.^[12][3]
3. (law) The plaintiff's answer to the defendant's arguments;^[3][12] a vorbi în replică “to answer back in a debate”.^[3][12]
4. (music) The answer given by one voice or instrument to another in a duet or trio.^[16][6]
5. A replica: a copy of a work of art, made by the artist or under the artist's supervision.^[3][6][7]
6. (geology) An aftershock.^[7][1]

Related words

• replica
• replicație

Usage notes

The verb a replica “to retort” is formed alongside the noun.^[17][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1117
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 692
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. replică
5. ^ 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. replică
6. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. replică
7. ^ a b c d e f Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. replică
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ 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. replică
12. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 944
13. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 727
14. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 545
15. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 539
16. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. replică
17. ^ Breban, Vasile (1980), Dicționar al limbii române contemporane de uz curent, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 508