subiect

Forms

subiect n (plural subiecte)^[1] As a masculine noun (a person under observation) it has the plural subiecți.^[2][1] The old variant sujet is in Heliade: „ca să pot mai bine intra în sujetul nostru” “so that I can better enter into our subject”.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing borrowed from Latin subiectum (“that which is placed under; subject”).^[5][6][1] The old variant sujet is borrowed from French sujet, and MDA2 and the DLR give both sources;^[4][3][5] Wikționar adds that some senses follow the French word.^[7]

The Latin noun comes from subiciō (“to throw or place under”),^[1] itself formed from sub (“under”) and iaciō (“to throw”), as Scriban and Graur give it.^[8][9] Scriban adds that the Latin word renders Ancient Greek ὑποκείμενον (hupokeímenon).^[8] The French word goes back to subiectus (“placed under, subjected”).^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a work by Micu of 1781.^[6] MDA2 dates the word from Budai-Deleanu's Romanian–German lexicon, which it gives as 1818.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense in the DLR is “the matter of one's concern or study, a topic”.^[3] In the early 19th century the French form competed with the Latin one: Heliade writes sujetul nostru, Brezoianu sujet de economie, Kretzulescu the plural subjecturi.^[3] Costinescu in 1870 gives “cause, motive” and “the matter one speaks or writes about”.^[11]

Technical senses came with the sciences: the subject of a sentence in grammar, a term of a judgement in logic, and in philosophy the human being as a conscious, knowing agent.^[2][12] A masculine noun with the plural subiecți names a person under observation or in an experiment, and in law a holder of rights and duties.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 1781 – first record, in a work by Micu.^[6]
• 1818 – in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon, MDA2's first record.^[4]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[3]
• 1870 – Costinescu glosses it “cause, motive” and “topic”.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The plot: the actions and events, in their sequence, that make up the content of a literary work, a film etc.^[2]
2. A topic or theme that someone speaks or writes about; also a cause, a reason.^[2][13]
3. (grammar) The subject of a sentence: the part that names who performs or undergoes the action, or who has the quality the predicate states.^[2]
4. (logic) The term of a judgement that names the object about which something is affirmed or denied.^[2][12]
5. (philosophy) The human being as a conscious agent capable of knowledge.^[13][12]
6. (masculine) A being under observation, investigation or experiment; an individual with certain traits.^[2][1]
7. (masculine, law) In subiect de drepturi și obligații, a person who holds rights and duties;^[2] subiect impozabil is a taxpayer.^[2]

Word family

• subiectiv
• subiectivitate

Related words

• obiect
• Latin subiectum
• French sujet

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1064
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. subiect
4. ^ 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, 1031
5. ^ 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. subiect
6. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. subiect
7. ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1257
9. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 569
12. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. subiect
13. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. subiect