scenariu

Forms

scenariu n (plural scenarii)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French scénario, with Italian scenario as a second source, as most Romanian dictionaries give it.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} MDN names only the French word.^[6] The French noun was itself borrowed in 1764 from the Italian, where the word first meant “stage set” and then “description of the staging”; the Italian word is formed scena (“scene”) with -ario, from Latin scaena, scēna, which goes back to Ancient Greek σκηνή (skēnḗ, “tent, stage”).^[7][8][1] Within Romanian it can be analysed as scenă with the suffix -ariu.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Gheorghe Asachi's historical drama Petru Rareș (1853), is an adjective meaning “scenic”: he speaks of arta scenarie “the art of the stage”.^[2][5] Laurian and Massim's dictionary also has it only as an adjective, “relating to the stage”, with the example pictori scenari “scene painters”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, the word first named the staging of a play and, more concretely, its scenery; both senses are now obsolete.^[5][2] Șăineanu's dictionary of 1929 defines it as the libretto giving a play's plan and staging.^[10] The modern sense is the text that sets out the plot of a play or a film together with the technical and directing notes, with scenariu cinematografic “screenplay” and scenariu radiofonic “radio play”.^[3][11] A figurative sense, “planned course of events”, spread in political and economic language;^[12][6][13] Dimitrescu records it in the press from 1998 and treats it as a calque on French scénario.^[12][6][13]

Timeline

• 1853 – first record, as an adjective “scenic”, in Asachi's Petru Rareș.^[2][5]
• 1871–1876 – the adjective in Laurian and Massim's dictionary.^[9]
• 1929 – Șăineanu defines the noun as the plan and staging of a play.^[10]
• 1955–1957 – scenariu cinematografic and scenariu radiofonic in the DLRLC.^[11]
• 1998 – the figurative “planned course of events” in the press.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A script or screenplay: the text of a play, show or film with its plot and dialogue, usually with technical and directing notes.^[3][2][1]
2. (figurative) A planned or expected course of events; a scenario.^[6][13][12]
3. (obsolete) The staging of a play; the stage scenery.^[2][5]

Related words

• scenă
• scenic
• French scénario
• Italian scenario

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, 801
3. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 987
4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. scenariu
6. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Laurian, A. T.; Massim, I. C. (1871–1876), Dictionariulu limbei romane, 2 vols., Bucuresci: Noua Typographia a Laboratoriloru Romani
10. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc
11. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 44
12. ^ a b c d Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE)
13. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional