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semăna

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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word semăna

semăna1 to sow

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1500–1520 Psaltirea Hurmuzaki
Inherited from
Latin semino
Ultimate origin
Latin sēmen
Etymology tree of semăna1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sēmen
English semen
Latin sēminō
French semer
Romanian semăna
From the same root · semăna1
Latin sēmentis ← sēmen
Latin sēminālis ← sēmen
Latin sēminārium ← sēmen
Latin sēminārius ← sēmen
Latin dissēminō ← sēminō

Forms

semăna (third-person singular present seamănă, past participle semănat, third-person subjunctive semene), 1st conjugation[1]

Etymology

The word for “to sow” is inherited from Latin sēminō (“to sow”), from sēmen (“seed”).[2][3][4][5][6][1] It survives in all four branches: Aromanian seamin, Megleno-Romanian sęmin and Istro-Romanian semiru.[2][1] Its Romance cognates include Italian seminare, Occitan semenar, French semer, Spanish sembrar and Portuguese semear.[2][6] Moldavian speech has the variant sămăna.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century, in Psalm 125 on those who sow in tears and reap in joy.[4][7] Tiktin cites the same psalm in the Psaltirea Scheiană.[5]

Semantic evolution

Besides sowing seed, the verb took the sown field as its object: a document of 1646 forbids a ploughman to plough or sow another man's land.[7][5] Old texts also use it for burying the dead and for conceiving.[4][3] The New Testament of 1648 has the parable of the man who sows good seed in his field.[7] From the gesture of scattering seed came “to scatter here and there” and the figurative “to spread” ideas, knowledge or discord: Tiktin quotes să sameni vrăjbi “that you sow discord”.[3][5] In folk custom at New Year and at weddings, people “sow” others by throwing grains of wheat or sweets at them with a wish for plenty.[3][2]

Timeline

  • early 16th century – in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki (Psalm 125).[4][7]
  • 1570 – semănară in Coresi's psalter.[8]
  • 1646 – of sowing another man's land, in a document.[7]
  • 1648 – the parable of the sower in the New Testament of 1648.[7]
  • 1660 – seamăn in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sow, to put seed into prepared ground so that it will sprout, and to sow a field with a crop: Au semănat grâu toamna.[3][1]
  2. (old) To bury.[3][4]
  3. (popular) To throw grains of wheat or sweets at someone at New Year or at a wedding, with a good wish.[3]
  4. To scatter, to put here and there.[3]
  5. (figurative) To spread ideas, knowledge or discord.[3][10]

Word family

  • semănat
  • semănător
  • semănătoare
  • semănătură

semăna2 to resemble

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1561 Coresi's Tetraevanghel
Inherited from
Latin similo
Ultimate origin
Latin similis

Forms

semăna (third-person singular present seamănă, past participle semănat, third-person subjunctive semene), 1st conjugation[1]

Etymology

The word for “to resemble” is inherited from Late Latin similō (“to be like”), a verb based on similis (“like, similar”).[3][4][2][1][11] Its Romance cognates are French sembler, Occitan semblar and Catalan semblar.[2][11] Albanian shëmbëllej continues the same Latin verb.[1] The DLR, DEX and Șăineanu give the same etymon.[12][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Coresi's Tetraevanghel of 1561 (Matthew 7:24).[14] MDA2 cites the Tetraevanghel of 1574, where the Pharisees are likened to whitewashed tombs.[4][12]

Semantic evolution

Old Romanian often used the verb with a reflexive dative, a-și semăna cu cineva.[14] The Bucharest Bible of 1688 has „În ce chip nu-și samănă fețele la fețe, așa nici inimile oamenilor sunt potrivă” “as faces are not like faces, so the hearts of men are not alike”.[14][12] From “to look like” came “to seem”: Tiktin quotes Băietul nu e așa prost cât seamănă “the boy is not as stupid as he seems”.[14] Romanian formed seamăn “likeness” from it, and semen “fellow man” is a singular rebuilt from the plural semeni.[2]

Timeline

  • 1561 – in Coresi's Tetraevanghel.[14]
  • 1574 – in the Tetraevanghel, MDA2's first record.[4][12]
  • 1688 – nu-și samănă in Proverbs in the Bucharest Bible.[14]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To resemble, to have features, qualities or faults in common with someone or something: Fata seamănă cu bunica ei.[3][1]
  2. To seem, to look like, to give the impression of.[3][4]

Word family

Usage notes

The two verbs are conjugated alike: seamănă is both “sows” and “resembles”.[3][1] A semăna ca două picături de apă and a semăna cuiva bucățică ruptă mean “to be the spitting image of someone”.[3] A proverb runs Culege ce-ai semănat “you reap what you sowed”.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. semăna
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1002
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 850
  5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. semăna 1
  6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7807
  7. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. semăna 1
  8. ^ Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 106:37
  9. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. seamăn
  10. ^ Breban, Vasile (1980), Dicționar al limbii române contemporane de uz curent, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. s.v. semăna
  11. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7925
  12. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. semăna 2
  13. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 583
  14. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. semăna 2
  15. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. semăna

Related etymologies

  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
  • sta · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Semăna.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/sem%C4%83na. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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