Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word spumos

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1703 More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origin
Latin spūma
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin spūma
Romanian spumă
Romanian spumos
From the same root
Latin spūmeus ← spūma
Latin spūmō ← spūma
Latin spūmōsus ← spūma
Romanian spuma ← spumă

Pronunciation

Forms

spumos m or n (feminine singular spumoasă, masculine plural spumoși, feminine/neuter plural spumoase)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian spumă + -os.[2][3][4][5][1] spumă itself continues Latin spūma.[6]

Pușcariu took the adjective straight from Latin spūmōsus (“foaming, frothy”), beside Spanish espumoso and Portuguese espumoso.[7] Șăineanu also gives the Latin word, and Scriban both explanations.[8][9] Marcu names French spumeux as the model for the modern senses.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1703.[5] Klein's dictionary of 1801 glosses spumós with Latin spumosus.[11] MDA2 dates it to Budai-Deleanu's lexicon (1818).[2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first described foaming water and waves; 19th-century writers use it of the sea, torrents and rivers.[4][5] Vin spumos “sparkling wine” is a wine that foams when poured.[12][5] Figurative senses compare things to foam: light, airy lace and clouds, and a lively, colourful way of speaking.[3][10] MDA2 also records an old phrase piatră spumoasă for meerschaum.[2]

Timeline

  • 1703 – the first record.[5]
  • 1801 – spumós in Klein's dictionary.[11]
  • 1818 – spumos in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon.[2][4]
  • 1825 – spumosu in the Lexicon de la Buda, glossed “foaming, full of foam”.[13]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of liquids: foamy, frothy, covered with foam.[3][1]
  2. vin spumos: sparkling wine.[3][12]
  3. (figurative) Light and airy like foam; gauzy: o rochie spumoasă de mătase.[3]
  4. (figurative) Of speech or writing: full of verve, lively and colourful.[3][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 965
  3. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1044
  4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. spumos
  5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. spumos
  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. spumă
  7. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 150
  8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 611
  9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1234
  10. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. spumos
  11. ^ a b Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 448
  12. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan” (1998), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române, 2nd ed., București: Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1013
  13. ^ 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. 664
Cite this entry

“Spumos.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/spumos. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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