satisface

Forms

satisface (first-person singular present satisfac, past participle satisfăcut, third-person subjunctive satisfacă), 3rd conjugation^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin satisfaciō (“to give satisfaction”), with French satisfaire as a second model, adapted to the conjugation of face.^[3][4][1] DEX names only Latin, and Ciorănescu only French.^[2][5] Wiktionary calls it a partial calque of the French verb, influenced by the Latin one.^[1] The Latin verb is a compound of satis (“enough”) and faciō (“to do, make”).^[6][7] French took it from Latin in 1219, likewise reshaped after faire.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is Stamati's dictionary of 1851.^[3] The DLR quotes it first from Aristia's translation of Plutarch, where someone's ambition is not satisfied.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The verb kept the senses of its models: to meet a wish, need or demand and so content someone, and to meet a norm or condition.^[2][3] MDA2 records a rare sense “to honour a debt or obligation”, and Șăineanu in 1929 gave also “to make amends for an offence”.^[3][9] The noun satisfacție is a separate loan from satisfaction.^[5]

Timeline

• 1851 – the first dated record, in Stamati's dictionary.^[3]
• 1861 – a calendar speaks of satisfying one's unbridled will.^[4]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary glosses it with French satisfaire.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To satisfy someone by fulfilling a wish, a need or a demand.^[2][3]
2. To meet certain norms, criteria or requirements; to correspond to them.^[2][3]
3. (rare) To honour an obligation or a debt.^[3]

Word family

• satisfăcător

Related words

• satisfacție
• face
• Latin satisfaciō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 977
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 761
4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. satisface
5. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. satisface
6. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 87
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 568
10. ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 650