superb

Forms

superb m or n (feminine singular superbă, masculine plural superbi, feminine/neuter plural superbe)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French superbe and Latin superbus (“proud, haughty; magnificent”), the two sources that DEX, MDA2 and the neologism dictionaries give together.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Scriban names only the Latin word.^[6] The French adjective was itself taken from Latin in the 12th century.^[7] Latin superbus is formed on super (“above”); the OLD analyses its second part as a suffix from the root that means “grow”, as in probus.^[8][7] The meaning “haughty” was the older one in Latin, and the sense “magnificent, splendid” arose in poetry and in the imperial period.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is Iordache Golescu's manuscript dictionary of about 1832.^[3] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 glosses superb as “arrogant, proud” and also “wonderful, very good, very beautiful, sumptuous”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with both of its Latin and French senses, the moral one, “proud, haughty”, and the aesthetic one, “splendid, magnificent”: the dictionaries of the 19th century give both side by side.^[9][10][11] In modern Romanian the sense “haughty, arrogant” is rare, and the word is above all a strong word of praise, “splendid, exceptionally beautiful”; colloquially it also means “excellent, very good” of food and other things.^[2][6][4]

Timeline

• c. 1832 – first recorded in Iordache Golescu's manuscript dictionary.^[3][12]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms, “proud” and “magnificent, very beautiful”.^[9]
• 1870 – Costinescu glosses it “proud, arrogant” and “magnificent, grand”.^[10]
• 1939 – Scriban adds the sense “very tasty” (of fruit).^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Full of grandeur; magnificent, imposing, impressive: un palat superb “a magnificent palace”.^[2][3]
2. Exceptionally beautiful: o zi superbă “a gorgeous day”;^[2][4] (rare) very good, very well done.^[2][4]
3. (rare) Proud, haughty, arrogant.^[2][3]

Related words

• superlativ
• suprem
• Latin superbus

Usage notes

The word is also used as an adverb, “splendidly, superbly”.^[3][6]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1074
3. ^ 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, 1060
4. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. superb
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. superb
6. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1266
7. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
10. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 580
11. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 624
12. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. superb