start

Forms

start n (plural starturi)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English start, a term of 20th-century sport.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Marcu and Maneca also compare German Start.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record MDA2 and the Academy dictionary give is from G. Călinescu , in a text they cite by its abbreviated title, which mentions girls who cheered „la startul unei curse de bicicliști” “at the start of a cyclists' race”: the moment a race begins.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the moment a race begins, given by a signal, and the marked line where the competitors set off.^[2][3] The set phrases a da startul “to give the starting signal” and a lua startul “to take part in a race, to set off” were recorded in the 1960s, and the second also came to mean setting out on any undertaking.^[4][2] The figurative sense “beginning, launch” of an activity appears from 1968.^[4] Technical senses followed: the place on an airfield from which take-offs are directed, and a mark at the beginning of a film reel used to synchronise sound.^[2][6] Medicine and sport speak of stare de start, the nervous excitement before a contest.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1955–1957 – DLRLC defines the starting line and the starting moment of a race.^[7]
• 1967 – se va da startul “the start will be given” in the press.^[4]
• 1968 – the figurative sense “beginning” of an activity.^[4]
• 1969 – starea de start, the state of excitement before a contest.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The starting line of a race, the place from which the competitors set off: a se prezenta la start “to take part in the race”.^[3][7]
2. The moment a race begins, given by the starter: a da startul “to give the starting signal”, a lua startul “to set off in a race”.^[3][2]
3. (by extension) The beginning of an undertaking: a lua startul “to set out on something”.^[2][5]
4. (aviation) The place on an aerodrom from which the take-offs of aircraft are directed.^[2][6]
5. (film) A mark at the beginning of a film reel, used to synchronize sound and picture in mixing.^[2][6]

Usage notes

The usual plural is starturi;^[2][6] starte is rare.^[2][6] MDA2 also records a variant ștart.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 972
3. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1046
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. start
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
6. ^ a b c d e f Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
7. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 218