simbol

Forms

simbol n (plural simboluri)^[1] An older variant is simvol, as in Leon Asachi: flowers that are „simvolul a iubirii noastre” “the symbol of our love”.^[2][3][4] The plural is simboluri, rarely simboale or simbole; the stress símbol also occurs.^[5][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin symbolum, with French symbole and German Symbol as further models: DEX and MDA2 give it this multiple origin, MDA2 and the DLR with the Latin form symbolus and with Modern Greek σύμβολον (símvolon) as well.^[5][3][2] Ciorănescu takes the modern form from French and the old variant simvol from Greek, which Gáldi records from 1712 among the Phanariote-era loans.^[6][7] Tiktin gives the Greek or Latin word alone, Wiktionary Latin.^[4][1]

The Latin word is from Ancient Greek σύμβολον (súmbolon, “token, tally”).^[1][8] The Greek word is formed on συμβάλλω (sumbállō, “to throw together, bring together”), from σύν (sún, “with”) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[1][9] It first named one of two halves of a broken object kept by two hosts or contracting parties, whose matching pieces proved the bearer's identity; hence “sign, token”.^[10][11][8] Christian Latin used the word for the summary of the articles of the faith, the crez.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1697, in Cacavela.^[4] In the church texts of the early 18th century it is the Creed: Antim Ivireanul writes of the agreement of the apostles and prophets „spre simbolul (adecă mărturisirea) credinței” “on the symbol, that is the confession, of the faith”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The religious sense, simbolul credinței “the Creed”, stayed in use in church books and in Șincai, and 19th-century writers used it figuratively for a literary creed.^[2] From the late 18th century the word meant a sign or emblem of an idea or a quality, as in Critil și Andronius (a red flower as the symbol of honour), in the Greek-influenced form simvol as well.^[2][7] The dictionaries of the 19th century give it as figure or image standing for an idea: “the dog is the symbol of fidelity”.^[12][13]

The scientific sense, a conventional sign for a quantity, an operation or a chemical element, is recorded from the late 19th century and is common in 20th-century textbooks.^[2][14] In literature and art the word names a device that suggests an idea through an image.^[5][15]

Timeline

• 1697 – first record, in Cacavela.^[4]
• 1712 – the Greek-type variant simvol in a manuscript catalogue.^[7]
• early 18th century – simbolul credinței “the Creed” in Antim Ivireanul.^[2][3]
• 1848 – listed by Negulici as a figure or image representing an idea.^[12]
• 1870 – Costinescu adds the theological sense and the symbols on medals.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sign, object or image that stands for something else, by convention or by analogy: an object, a being, an idea, a quality or a feeling: Porumbelul este un simbol al păcii.^[5][3]
2. (literature and art) An expressive device that suggests an idea or a mood through an image.^[5][3]
3. A conventional sign or group of signs used in science and technology for quantities, operations or formulas;^[5][3] simbol chimic: the notation of a chemical element.^[5][3]
4. (Christianity) Simbolul credinței: the Creed, the prayer that sums up the main dogmas of the Christian faith; crez.^[5][3]

Word family

• simbolic
• simbolist
• simbolism
• simboliza

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. simbol
3. ^ 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, 890
4. ^ 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. simbol
5. ^ 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. 1018
6. ^ 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. simbol
7. ^ a b c Gáldi, Ladislas (1939), Les mots d'origine néo-grecque en roumain à l'époque des Phanariotes, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Egyetemi Nyomda, p. 252
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
10. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 900
11. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b 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
13. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 517
14. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1200
15. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. simbol