sugestie

Forms

sugestie f (plural sugestii)^[1] An older variant is sugestiune, modelled on the Latin form.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French suggestion, with borrowed from Latin suggestiō named beside it.^[3][2][5][1] The DLR and NODEX give French alone.^[6][7] The French word is borrowed from the Latin one.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR date the first record to Vlahuță's novel Dan (1894), in the psychological sense: the presence of certain people has „un act de sugestie nefericită” “an act of unhappy suggestion” that lowers one's energy.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with the psychology and medicine of the late 19th century: influence over another person's mind, will or behaviour, with or without their consent, and the doctor's influence on a patient's mind, used in treatment, in the waking state or under hypnosis.^[6][3] Writers of the 20th century used it for a power of suggestion, the ability to sway others, as Sadoveanu and Camil Petrescu do.^[6]

From the act of suggesting the word moved to what is suggested: an idea, a proposal, a piece of advice.^[2][3] The condică de sugestii și reclamații, the complaints and suggestions book of shops and offices, uses this sense.^[8]

Timeline

• 1894 – first record, in Vlahuță's Dan.^[2][6]
• 1955–1957 – the sense “idea, proposal” and the condică de sugestii in the DLRLC.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Influence exerted on someone's will; the steering of another's will.^[3][2]
2. (medicine) Influence on a person's mind and will, awake or under hypnosis, used to treat some neuropsychic disorders.^[3][2]
3. Something suggested to someone: a suggestion, a proposal, an idea.^[3][5][1]

Related words

• sugera
• sugestiona
• sugestiv

References

1. ^ a b c d 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, 1049
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. 1071
4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. sugestie
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. sugestie
6. ^ 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. sugestie
7. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. sugestie
8. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 299