schiță

Forms

schiță f (plural schițe)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian schizzo (“sketch”), according to Ciorănescu, Tiktin, DEX, the “Dicționar de neologisme” and Wiktionary.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} MDA2 and NODEX give French esquisse instead, MDA2 comparing the Italian, and Scriban gives the French word as taken from the Italian.^[6][7][8]

The Italian word first meant “a squirt, a splash”, and in the sense “the artist's first rapid drawing” it is recorded before 1535; it is a deverbal noun from schizzare (“to squirt, splash; to sketch”).^[9][1] The origin of the verb is obscure: DHLF lists a Gothic source, ruled out on phonetic grounds, an onomatopoeia and a Latin *schediare;^[10][11] Nocentini derives it from Vulgar Latin *coactiāre (“to press”), the source of schiacciare.^[10][11] The Italian noun is also the source of the French word and of German Skizze.^[11][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1839, in a letter by C. Negruzzi, in the sense “sketch”.^[3] Negulici's vocabulary of 1848, MDA2's first record, defines it as the first draft of a painting, a statue or a literary work.^[12][6]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of the visual arts: a quick drawing made from a model, or the first form of a painting, sculpture or architectural design.^[6][13] From the start it was also used of writing: Negulici's definition already includes a literary composition, and the DLRLC quotes Negruzzi's schiță on the origin and language of the Roma.^[12][14] It came to mean any brief outline of a work, a plan or a subject, and a quick topographic drawing of terrain.^[4][15]

In literature it names a short prose genre that presents a single characteristic episode, the form of Caragiale's Momente și schițe.^[4][14] The neologism dictionary also records a gesture or movement only hinted at.^[15] The verb schița “to sketch” is taken by Ciorănescu from Italian schizzare.^[2]

Timeline

• 1839 – first record, in a letter by C. Negruzzi.^[3]
• 1848 – in Negulici's vocabulary of neologisms, glossed with Latin adumbratio.^[12]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives the senses “first lines of a drawing”, “first model of a sculpture” and, figuratively, “first idea of a work”.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sketch: a drawing, sculpture or architectural plan that sets out a subject in its broad, characteristic lines, often as a step towards the finished work.^[4][6]
2. A first, summary plan of a work, an outline; a work that gives a brief general survey of a subject.^[4][14]
3. A quick drawing of terrain, made from a map or from nature, showing its topographic details.^[5]
4. (literature) A short prose work presenting a single characteristic episode in the life of one or more characters.^[4]

Word family

• schița

Usage notes

A second schiță, a folk dance of south-eastern Moldavia similar to the polka and the tune it is danced to, is recorded from Hasdeu's questionnaire of 1884–1885; its origin is unknown, and the DLR and MDA2 compare spiță.^[16][6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. schiță
3. ^ 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. schiță
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 989
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. schiță
6. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 808
7. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. schiță
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1170
9. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b c 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. schiță
13. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 574
14. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 50
15. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. schiță
16. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. schiță