simț

Forms

simț n (plural simțuri)^[1] In the Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet the word was written симц.^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from Romanian simți (“to feel”).^[2][3][1] Ciorănescu calls it an artificial deverbal noun modelled on Latin sensus (“sense”), and Tiktin and Scriban likewise describe it as made from the verb after the Latin word.^[4][5][6] The verb itself continues Latin sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).^[4][7] Gabinschi groups the noun with the neologism sens, which goes back to the same Latin noun.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in Ion Budai-Deleanu's Romanian–German lexicon (1818); Tiktin's first date is 1839.^[3][5] The DLR quotes it from the 19th century on for the faculty of perception, as in simțul mirosului “the sense of smell”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the senses of the body: cele cinci simțuri “the five senses”.^[5][8] From this came the plural sense “the senses” as the seat of physical desire, sensuality.^[2][3][6] A second line of meaning is the capacity to judge and appreciate, an aptitude for something: simț moral “moral sense”, simț practic “practical sense”, bunul simț “common sense”.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• 1818 – first record, in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon.^[3]
• 1839 – the first record Tiktin cites.^[5]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives the five senses, simț moral and bunul simț.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sense: the faculty of perceiving the outer world through specific organs;^[2][3][1] organe de simț “sense organs”.^[2][3][1]
2. (mostly plural) The senses as the seat of physical desire; sensuality; the delight of the senses.^[2][3]
3. The capacity to understand, judge and appreciate; an aptitude for something: simțul umorului “sense of humour”, simț practic “practical sense”.^[2][10]

Related words

• simți
• simțire
• sens
• Latin sensus

Usage notes

Bunul simț (also written bun-simț) is “common sense, decency”, and simț moral the ability to tell good from evil.^[5][2][3] An entry simț in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon of c. 1660 glosses Slavonic verbs and belongs to the verb simți, whose old first person was simț.^[11][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1019
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 893
4. ^ a b c 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. simți
5. ^ 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. simț
6. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1202
7. ^ a b Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 160
8. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. simț
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 593
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. simț
11. ^ 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. simț