seif

Forms

seif n (plural seifuri)^[1] Rarer variants are safe, safeu and sef, and the word is also written in the English way, safe.^[2][3] In the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet it was written сейф.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English safe (“strongbox”).^{[4][2][3][5][1]} Gabinschi counts it among the international words of English origin, also borrowed into German Safe and Russian сейф (sejf), and traces the English word to French sauf, from Latin salvus (“whole, unharmed”).^[6] The spelling ⟨seif⟩ renders the English pronunciation, while ⟨safe⟩, ⟨safeu⟩ and ⟨sef⟩ follow the English and French spelling.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record in the Academy dictionary is the plural safeurile in a periodical of 1948 that the dictionary cites as CONTEMP., for the safes of the trusts.^[3] MDA2 gives as its first record the form sefurile “the safes of a bank” in I. A. Bassarabescu's stories, cited from an edition of 1953.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Besides the strongbox, the word names the strongroom of a bank and each of the private deposit boxes in it.^[2] DEX adds the secure room of an archive or a public library where manuscripts and valuables are kept.^[4] The Academy dictionary quotes safeuri and sefuri from the 1940s and 1950s, and seif from România literară of 1970.^[3]

Timeline

• 1948 – safeurile in a periodical.^[3]
• 1953 – sefurile in an edition of Bassarabescu's stories.^[2]
• 1970 – seif in România literară.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A safe: an iron cabinet or box with thick walls and special locks for money, papers and valuables; a casă de bani.^[4][2][1]
2. A strongroom of a bank, archive or library; one of the private deposit boxes in a bank's strongroom.^[4][2]

Related words

• English safe

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 847
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. seif
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1000
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. seif
6. ^ Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 158
7. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 91