supărare

Forms

supărare f (plural supărări)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian supăra + -re, the long infinitive of the verb used as a noun.^[2][3][4][1] The verb continues Latin superō (“to surpass, to overcome”), and has a counterpart Aromanian shupãr “to mock”.^[5][2][1] Its Romanian sense comes from the idea of going beyond what can be borne.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a Moldavian manuscript of about 1642.^[6] The New Testament of 1648 uses it for affliction and distress: a da în supărare “to deliver up to affliction”, and the brothers bearing their supărările with love.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The early meanings follow the old sense of the verb, “to press hard, to harass”: affliction, distress, hardship.^[4][6] The Slavonic–Romanian lexicons of the 17th century use it to gloss Slavonic words for affliction and harm.^[7] From the sense of trouble and nuisance the word moved to the feeling it causes, sorrow and grief, and to anger, the main modern senses.^[2][8] Polite formulas grew out of the sense “annoyance”: să nu-ți fie cu supărare “no offence meant” and fără supărare! “no hard feelings”.^[2][6]

Timeline

• c. 1642 – in a Moldavian manuscript, the first record Tiktin gives.^[6]
• 1648 – “affliction” in the New Testament.^[3][4]
• 1649 – in Mardarie's Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[7]
• 1688 – in the Bucharest Bible, for instance in Luke 18:5.^[9]
• 1825 – “sorrow, grief” and “trouble, hardship” in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Trouble, vexation, suffering; hardship, want.^[2][3][1]
2. A burden or hindrance;^[2] (popular) damage, disturbance.^[2]
3. Sorrow, sadness, grief.^[2][1]
4. Anger, irritation.^[2][10]

Related words

• supăra
• supărăcios

Usage notes

Să nu-ți (vă) fie cu supărare and dacă nu ți-ar fi cu supărare are polite formulas used when one fears to disturb or offend;^[2] fără supărare! says that one has taken no offence, or asks the other not to take offence at an unpleasant truth.^[2]

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 k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1073
3. ^ 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, 1059
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. supărare
5. ^ 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. supăra
6. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. supărare
7. ^ a b Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro
8. ^ a b Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 687
9. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Luke 18:5
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. supărare