spectacol

Forms

spectacol n (plural spectacole)^[1] The first records spell it spectachiu and spetachiu, with the plural spetachiuri in 1845;^[2][3] spectacul and spectaclu are also old variants.^[2][3]

Etymology

The dictionaries name several sources: DEX 2009 says it is borrowed from French spectacle and Latin spectāculum;^[4] MDA2, the DLR and NODEX add Italian spettacolo.^[3][2][5] Ciorănescu derives it from the French word with the ending of the Italian one,^[6] while Tiktin gives only Italian,^[7] and Marcu and Maneca put Latin first.^[8] The early forms ⟨spectachiu⟩ and ⟨spetachiu⟩ follow Italian.^[2]

The Latin word, “a sight, show”, is formed from spectō (“to watch”) with the suffix -culum.^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DLR's first quotation is un spectachiu atât de pompos “so splendid a sight”, of an aurora borealis, in a periodical of 1844.^[2] MDA2's first record is Gheorghe Asachi's drama Petru Rareș (1853), where it is a sad sight, a girl weeping by the bed of a dying old woman.^[3][2] Tiktin dates it to 1857.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was a sight that draws attention, often a grim one: Ion Ghica wrote of a trist spectacol “sad sight” and Nicolae Filimon of a spectacol barbar.^[2] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 already joins this to the theatrical performance and a public ceremony.^[10] The performance sense became the main one, and later spread to any artistic or sports event put on for the public.^[4][3] The phrase a se da în spectacol “to make a spectacle of oneself” describes attention drawn by unseemly behaviour.^[4][11]

Timeline

• 1844 – spectachiu “sight” in a periodical, the first record.^[2]
• 1845 – the plural spetachiuri.^[2]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[10]
• 1853 – in Asachi's Petru Rareș, MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1857 – Tiktin's first record.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A show or performance: a play, film, concert or other event given for the public.^[4][3][1]
2. A sight or scene that draws the eye or attention;^[4] a se da în spectacol “to make a spectacle of oneself”.^[4]
3. (dated) în spectacol “in public view”.^[3]

Word family

• spectacular

Related words

• spectator
• Latin spectaculum

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. spectacol
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, 949
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1038
5. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. spectacol
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. spectacol
7. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. spectacol
8. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. spectacol
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ 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, p. s.v. spectacol
11. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. spectacol