ruj

Forms

ruj n (plural rujuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French rouge (“red”), from the French phrase rouge à lèvres (“lipstick”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French word is inherited from Latin rubeus (“red, reddish”).^[1][6][7] Romanian inherited the same Latin word as roib “bay, chestnut (of a horse)”, making it a doublet of the French loan.^[6][1][8] Graur puts it in one family with rubrică, rubicond and rujeolă.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR date the first record to Ioachim Botez's Însemnările unui belfer (1935), with no trace of lipstick on lips cracked by fever.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word names the cosmetic for the lips and, less often, for the cheeks.^[2][3] Dentistry uses it for a paste of iron and chromium oxides in a binder.^[4][5] The phrase roșu de buze is a synonym.^[4]

Timeline

• 1935 – first record, in Ioachim Botez.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. lipstick: a cosmetic in shades of red for colouring the lips; roșu de buze.^[4][2]
2. (dentistry) A paste of iron and chromium oxides in a binder.^[4][5]

Word family

• ruja

Related words

• roib
• rujeolă
• roșu

Usage notes

A separate regional ruj (masculine) means “rose” or another red flower: MDA2 refers it to rujă, Scriban derives it from rujă and Stati gives it as a Moldovan word for “rose”.^[2][9][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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, 735
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. ruj
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 966
5. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. ruj
6. ^ a b Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 152
7. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1142
10. ^ Stati, Vasile (2003), Dicționar moldovenesc-românesc, Chișinău, p. 263