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strălucitor

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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word strălucitor

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1642 Cazania de la Govora More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origins
Romanian stră-,-torLatin *lucio
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Romanian luci
Romanian străluci
Romanian strălucitor

Pronunciation

  • /ˌstrə.lu.t͡ʃiˈtor/[1]

Forms

strălucitor m or n (feminine singular strălucitoare, masculine plural strălucitori, feminine/neuter plural strălucitoare)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian străluci + -tor, from the verb “to shine brightly” with the adjective and agent suffix.[2][3][4][5][1] The verb is luci with the prefix stră- according to Pușcariu and DEX.[6][2] Candrea and Densusianu took it from a derivative of Latin lūceō (“to shine”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to the Cazania de la Govora of 1642.[5] The feminine strălucitoare appears in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon of about 1660–1670.[7] MDA2 dates the word to the Menaion of 1776: „Ai vărsat raze de Dumnezeu strălucitoare” “thou hast poured forth rays shining with God”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is physical: giving out a strong light or brightly lit, said of stars, the sun, gems and clothes.[4][2] The Bible of 1795 has „steaoa cea strălucitoare de dimineață” “the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16).[5] From light it passed to eyes and faces full of expression, to vivid colours, and, figuratively, to what is splendid and magnificent.[2][4] Of weather it means sunny and bright.[4]

Timeline

  • 1642 – the Cazania de la Govora, the first record.[5]
  • c. 1660-1670 – strălucitoare in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.[7]
  • 1776 – strălucitoare in the Menaion.[3][4]
  • 1795 – steaoa cea strălucitoare de dimineață in a Bible.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. shining, brilliant: giving out a strong light; strălucit, lucitor.[2][3]
  2. Of the eyes, look or face: full of brightness, expressive; of colours: vivid.[2]
  3. (figurative) splendid, magnificent.[2]
  4. Of weather: sunny, bright.[4]

Usage notes

The old variant strelucitor is listed by MDA2.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 1057
  3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1003
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. strălucitor
  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. strălucitor
  6. ^ a b 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. străluci
  7. ^ 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. strălucitoare
Cite this entry

“Strălucitor.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/str%C4%83lucitor. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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