sulc

Forms

sulc n (plural sulcuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sulcus (“furrow”), a Latinism.^[2][3][1] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *solkos and Proto-Indo-European *solk-o- (“furrow”), related to Ancient Greek ἕλκω (hélkō, “to draw, drag”) and ὁλκός (holkós, “furrow; hauling-engine”), Albanian heq (“to draw”) and Old English sulh (“plough”).^[4] Wiktionary places it under the root *selk- (“to pull, drag”).^[4][1] The inherited Romance words include Italian solco, Catalan solc and Spanish surco.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and DLR first record the word in Ion Heliade-Rădulescu, where the whole wooded land is turned up în sulcuri “in furrows” under the speaker's steps.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word did not take root: MDA2 labels both its senses obsolete Latinisms.^[2] Besides the furrow, it was used in botany for the grooves between the ribs of an achene, in Grecescu's flora.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) A furrow of ploughed earth, alternating with a ditch or trench; a synonym of brazdă.^[2][3][6][1]
2. (obsolete) A groove or crease on a smooth surface.^[2][3][1]

Related words

• brazdă
• Latin sulcus

Usage notes

The same Latin word is the source of the learned combining form -sulc “split, grooved”, through French -sulque and -sulce.^[7][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 1052
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. sulc
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ Bulgăr, Gheorghe; Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gheorghe (2002), Dicționar de arhaisme și regionalisme, 2 vols., București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. sulc
7. ^ Andrei, Nicolae (1987), Dicționar etimologic de termeni științifici: elemente de compunere greco-latine, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. s.v. -sulc
8. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. -sulc