septembrie

Forms

septembrie m (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Modern Greek Σεπτέμβριος (Septémvrios), in part through Old Church Slavonic септѧбр҄ь (septębrĭ).^[2][3] Wiktionary has only the Slavonic route, with the Old Church Slavonic word taken from Byzantine Greek Σεπτέμβριος (Septémbrios),^[1] and the REW also derives the Romanian word from Slavic.^[4] DEX gives only the Greek word,^[5] while NODEX and the DLR name both the Slavonic and the Greek form.^[6][7] Ciorănescu traces the present form, which replaced the older septemvrie in the 19th century, to Latin September.^[2]

The Greek word comes from the Latin month name, an adjective formed on septem (“seven”): in the Roman calendar the year began in March, and September was its seventh month.^[8][9][1] The month name survives south of the Danube as Aromanian septembriu.^[2] Its Romance cognates continue the Latin word directly: Italian settembre, French septembre, Catalan setembre and Spanish setiembre.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1551–1553, in the Gospel book he calls ES.^[3] The Palia de la Orăștie (1581–1582) names the month as the time when the fruit stops growing and is gathered.^[7][10]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept one sense, the ninth month of the year.^[5][10] Its form changed more than its meaning: old texts write septevrie and septemvrie, with /v/ for /b/, and documents of 1814 and 1820 have septemvrie and săptemvri.^[7][3] Writers of the 19th and 20th centuries used septemvrie, septembre and septembrie side by side: Ghica wrote septembre, Caragiale septemvrie and Galaction septembrie.^[7] DEX now gives septemvrie only as a variant.^[5]

The native names of the month, răpciune and vinicer, are labelled old and popular.^[10][7]

Timeline

• 1551–1553 – the first record, in the Gospel book Tiktin calls ES.^[3]
• 1581–1582 – the month named in the Palia de la Orăștie.^[7][10]
• 1814 – septemvrie in a document.^[7]
• 1820 – săptemvri in a document.^[7]
• 19th century – the form septembrie, remodelled on Latin September.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. September, the ninth month of the year, after august.^[5][10][1]

Related words

• Aromanian septembriu
• Latin September
• șapte
• răpciune

Usage notes

DEX lists septemvrie as a variant.^[5] MDA2 records many regional forms, among them săptembăr, sectembre and setembre.^[10] The usual abbreviation is sept.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. septemvrie
3. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. septembrie
4. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7832
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1007
6. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. septembrie
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ 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, 861