star

Forms

star n (plural staruri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English star, a word of the 20th century.^[2][1] DEX, DN and DLR name French star as a second source.^[3][4][5] Dimitrescu calls it an anglicism.^[6] Romanian already had stea in the same sense, and Wiktionary names aster as another doublet.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ciorănescu writes that Sadoveanu was the first to use it.^[2] MDA2 and DLR cite Geo Bogza's reportage Anii împotrivirii (1934–1939): a girl had dreamt of becoming „star de cinema”.^[7][5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was a star of the cinema.^[5][3] In the 1960s and 1970s the film magazine Cinema and other periodicals used it for singers too, and DEX extends it to any prominent figure of film, music and sport.^[5][3] In 1975 a journalist was called „un «star» al presei”, and the compound star-sistem “star system” appeared in 1973.^[6] Ciorănescu and DN make it masculine;^[2][4][3][5] DEX, MDA2 and DLR make it neuter, with the plural staruri.^[2][4][3][5]

Timeline

• 1934–1939 – star de cinema in Geo Bogza's reportage.^[7][5]
• 1968 – starurile in the magazine Cinema.^[5]
• 1973 – the compound star-sistem.^[6]
• 1975 – a journalist called a “star” of the press.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A film star: A devenit un star de la Hollywood.^[3][5]
2. By extension, a celebrity of music, sport or the press.^[3][6]

Related words

• stea
• English star

Usage notes

A separate noun star (DEX's star¹) names the Star class of sailing boat, about 7 m long, with a crew of two.^[3][7] DLR derives it from English star[board], and MDA2 dates it to the technical lexicon of 1957.^[5][7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. star
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1046
4. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. star
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. star
6. ^ a b c d e Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. star
7. ^ 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, 972