similar

Forms

similar m or n (feminine singular similară, masculine plural similari, feminine/neuter plural similare)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French similaire (“similar”), one of the French adjectives of the 19th century.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Marcu and Maneca compare its Latin source, Latin similis (“like, resembling”), and Scriban adds Italian similare.^[6][7] The French adjective was formed in 1539 from the Latin one, first as a term of anatomy;^[8][1] Wiktionary takes it from Medieval Latin similāris.^[8][1] The Latin adjective goes back, through an older form, to the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”), which also expressed sameness.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in Ion Brezoianu's book on agriculture of 1850, where the word means “of the same kind”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first meant “of the same nature” as someone or something, and by extension came to mean simply “resembling, alike”, a synonym of asemănător and analog.^[2][4] The academic dictionary quotes it in the critical essays of Gherea and in the work of Pârvan; Șăineanu's dictionary already defined it as “of the same nature”.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1850 – first record, in Brezoianu's Rudiment agricol universal.^[2][4]
• 1929 – Șăineanu defines it as “of the same nature”.^[9]
• 1959 – the noun similaritate “similarity”, from French.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the same nature or kind as someone or something; similar, analogous.^[3][2]
2. By extension, resembling someone or something; alike.^[2][4]

Related words

• similaritate
• asemănător
• analog

References

1. ^ a b c d 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, 891
3. ^ a b DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1018
4. ^ 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. similar
5. ^ 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. similar
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. similar
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1201
8. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 592