splină

Forms

splină f (plural spline)^[1]

Etymology

Ciorănescu takes it as inherited from Latin splēnem (“spleen”), the accusative of a word Latin took from Ancient Greek σπλήν (splḗn).^[2][3] Pușcariu and the REW give the same etymology, with Romance cognates such as Old Neapolitan splene and Old French esplein.^[4][5] The word survives in all four branches: Aromanian splinã, Megleno-Romanian splină and Istro-Romanian splinĕ.^[2][6][7]

Others derive it from the medieval and modern Greek form σπλήνα (splína) (Cihac, Murnu, Tiktin) or from Slavonic (Conev, Rosetti).^[2][8] Ciorănescu rejects both, since the Istro-Romanian and Transylvanian forms with /r/ for /n/ point to an old word.^[2] DEX gives only the Greek source, MDA2 both the Greek and the Latin, and Wiktionary finds the Latin more likely.^[9][10][1] That Greek form is a remodelling of the ancient noun, recorded from the 7th–8th century.^[11] Ciorănescu compares Old Church Slavonic сплина (splina), and notes that Hungarian szplina and a Bulgarian form are from Romanian.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Coresi's Carte de învățătură of 1581, for the organ.^[8][10] The 17th-century Slavonic–Romanian lexicons have the adjective splinav “suffering from the spleen”, from about 1660.^[12]

Semantic evolution

Besides the organ, popular speech uses the word for diseases of the spleen and for anthrax in cattle: a farming paper reported oxen dying by the hundred “of the spleen”.^[8][10] An animal fără splină “without a spleen” never tires, and the phrase came to be said of people who work without rest; the folk tale offers a horse fără splină.^[8][13]

In Moldavia, Bukovina, Dobruja and Muntenia the word names a crosspiece of the peasant cart, and in some places a part of the sledge or of the plough.^[8][10][14] The golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium alternifolium) is called splină or splinuță after the shape of its leaves.^[9]

Timeline

• 1581 – the first record, in Coresi's Carte de învățătură.^[8][10]
• c. 1660 – splinav “splenetic” in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[12]
• 1825 – the Lexicon de la Buda gives fără splină “tireless” and boală de splină “disease of the spleen”.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. The spleen: a soft, spongy organ in the upper left of the abdomen that produces lymphocytes and stores blood: Doctorul i-a cercetat splina.^[9][10]
2. (popular) fără splină “tireless”, of animals and of people who work hard without tiring;^[9] a i se pune cuiva splina “to get a stitch in the side” from running or walking fast.^[9]
3. (popular) A disease of cattle with a swollen spleen; anthrax.^[10][8]
4. (regional) A crosspiece at the back of the peasant cart; a part of the sledge or of the plough.^[10][2]
5. The golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium alternifolium), a small plant with golden-yellow flowers; also called splinuță.^[9][1]

Word family

• splinuță

Related words

• Aromanian splinã
• Latin splēn

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. splină
3. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 148
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 8164
6. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 962
7. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 272
8. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. splină
9. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1042
10. ^ 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, 959
11. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr, p. s.v. σπλήνα
12. ^ a b 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. splină
13. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 198
14. ^ Stati, Vasile (2003), Dicționar moldovenesc-românesc, Chișinău, p. 282
15. ^ Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 662