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
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /spuˈmos/[1]
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
- Of liquids: foamy, frothy, covered with foam.[3][1]
- vin spumos: sparkling wine.[3][12]
- (figurative) Light and airy like foam; gauzy: o rochie spumoasă de mătase.[3]
- (figurative) Of speech or writing: full of verve, lively and colourful.[3][10]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. spumos
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 150
- ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 611
- ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1234
- ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. spumos
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan” (1998), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române, 2nd ed., București: Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1013
- ^ 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.
Last edited on . ·