strănut

Forms

strănut n (plural strănuturi)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from Romanian strănuta (“to sneeze”).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary also allows a link with Late Latin sternūtum (“sneeze”), the source of Italian starnuto.^[1][6]

The verb strănuta continues Latin sternūtō, with Aromanian stărnut south of the Danube;^[7][8] Tiktin explains its ⟨ă⟩ by comparison with Italian starnutare.^[8] Ciorănescu lists Romance cognates such as Spanish estornudar and French éternuer.^[7] The Latin verb is the frequentative of sternuō (“to sneeze”),^[9] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *(p)st(e)rnu- (“to sneeze”), perhaps reshaped to imitate the sound.^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the noun to the Lexicon de la Buda of 1825.^[11] The verb is much older: Tiktin dates it to 1642,^[8] and Neculce tells how, at table, Prince Barnovschi began to sneeze often and hard.^[8][11]

Semantic evolution

The noun means a sneeze and the noise it makes.^[2] In medical prose it lists the sneezing that comes with a head cold,^[3] and a quotation by Iorga in the DLR describes a custom in which everyone waits to see who will sneeze first, and the sneeze must be real.^[3] Old synonyms are strănutare and strănutătură, regional ones străfig and străfigat.^[11]

Timeline

• 1642 – the verb strănuta, Tiktin's first record.^[8]
• c. 1743 – strănuta in Neculce's chronicle.^[8][11]
• 1825 – the noun strănut in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[11]
• 1939 – Scriban defines it as the act of sneezing.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sneeze: the act of sneezing; the noise someone makes when sneezing.^[2][1]

Related words

• strănuta
• Latin sternuō

Usage notes

A separate adjective strănut (also stărnut, strenut), old and popular, describes a horse with a white mark on the nose or muzzle.^[3][13] Its origin is uncertain: Tiktin and Candrea derived it from the verb, while the third edition of Tiktin denies any link with the sneeze;^[13][14] Densusianu compared Old Church Slavonic сръна (srŭna, “roe deer”), Gamillscheg the Gothic word for “star”, and Skok Latin stēlla (“star”) with an inserted ⟨r⟩.^[13] The DLR and MDA2 compare a Latin *sternutus.^[3][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1057
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. strănut
4. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 806
5. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 620
6. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ 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. strănuta
8. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. strănuta
9. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1004
12. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1250
13. ^ a b c 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. strănut
14. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. strănut