subsol

Forms

subsol n (plural subsoluri)^[1] MDA2 records a rare variant susol.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian sub- + sol, on the model of French sous-sol.^{[3][2][4][5][6]} Wiktionary gives only the Romanian parts.^[1] Marcu's dictionary of neologisms puts the French model alone.^[7]

The French word is formed from sous- and sol (“ground, soil”).^[1] It is recorded from 1824 in agriculture, for the deeper layers of the soil.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 takes the first record from Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary, in its third edition of 1900.^[2] The DLR cites the same dictionary first, for the geological sense: the layers below the topsoil.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the ground below the surface soil: the layers of rock beneath it, and in farming the part below the ploughed layer as deep as roots reach.^[2][4] In this sense it is common in phrases about mineral wealth, the riches of the subsoil, and it is also used figuratively, for the hidden depths of a language or of society.^[4][9]

Șăineanu's dictionary of 1929 already has the building sense, the part of a house below the ground floor, beside the geographical one.^[10] Scriban defines it only as a basement storey.^[6] Printing gave it a third sense, the bottom of a page, where footnotes go, and in newspapers the band below a horizontal rule that carries reviews and essays.^[3][5] Romanian prison slang used it for the police lock-up.^[11]

Timeline

• 1900 – first record, in the third edition of Barcianu's dictionary.^[2]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives both the building and the geographical sense.^[10]
• 1939 – Scriban defines it as a basement storey and names the French model.^[6]
• 1953 – bogățiile subsolului “the riches of the subsoil” in the newspaper Scînteia.^[4][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The ground below the surface sol, the subsoil: the geological layers beneath the present soil.^[3][2]
2. The basement of a building: the rooms that lie wholly or partly below ground level.^[3][2]
3. The bottom part of a page in a book or periodical, kept for explanatory notes, and by extension a footnote printed there.^[3]
4. In a newspaper, the lower band of a page, set off by a rule, where reviews and literary or scientific articles are printed.^[3][5]

Related words

• sol
• subteran
• French sous-sol

Usage notes

The plural is subsoluri.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1036
3. ^ 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. 1066
4. ^ 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. subsol
5. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. subsol
6. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1259
7. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. subsol
8. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
9. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 285
10. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 624
11. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. subsol