respectiv

Forms

respectiv m or n (feminine singular respectivă, masculine plural respectivi, feminine/neuter plural respective)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French respectif, and equally borrowed from Medieval Latin respectīvus: DEX, Wiktionary and the DILF give French alone, while the DLR, MDA2, Scriban and NODEX give Latin and French.^{[2][1][3][4][5][6][7]} The French adjective was borrowed about 1534 from this scholastic Latin word, which meant “relating to” and was a derivative of Latin respectus (“regard, consideration”).^[8] The Latin adjective is formed on respiciō (“to regard, consider”) with -īvus.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DLR's first dated quotation is from Albina Românească of 1830, which speaks of helping one's respectivi fellow citizens in matters of trade.^[4] MDA2's first record is from Codrescu's Uricariul, a document the DLR dates to 1862.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Negulici in 1848 and Costinescu in 1870 still gloss it “reciprocal, relative, mutual”: drepturi respective “mutual rights”.^[9][10] The current senses, “the one in question” and “belonging to each in particular”, appear in the documents and textbooks of the time and in Negruzzi and Caragiale.^[4][11]

Used as an adverb it means “respectively” and also “that is, namely”: Iorga writes of saints meeting in heavenly gatherings, respectiv soboare “that is, synods”.^[4][12] As a familiar noun with the article, respectivul and respectiva name someone's husband or lover and someone's wife, and by extension the person being talked about;^[4][2] Caragiale already uses it so.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1830 – respectivilor săi in Albina Românească, the first dated record.^[4]
• 1842 – prințipalului respectiv “of the principality in question” in a document.^[4]
• 1848 – Negulici records it as a neologism meaning “reciprocal, relative”.^[9]
• 1862 – episcopii respectivi “the bishops concerned” in a document of Codrescu's Uricariul.^[4][5]
• 1870 – Costinescu glosses it “reciprocal, relative”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Concerning the circumstance, person or thing in question: în ziua respectivă “on the day in question”.^[2][5][1]
2. respective: relating to each of several people or things in particular; corresponding.^[2][5]

Adverb

1. respectively: for the other case or position; also, that is, namely.^[5][12]

Noun

1. (colloquial, with the article) respectivul, respectiva: someone's husband or lover, someone's wife or girlfriend; by extension, the person being talked about.^[2][5]

Related words

• respect
• Medieval Latin respectīvus
• French respectif

Usage notes

Stamati's dictionary records an unusual form resteptiv.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 946
3. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. respectiv
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. respectiv
5. ^ 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, 696
6. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1120
7. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. respectiv
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ 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. respectiv
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 434
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 731
12. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. respectiv