supraviețuitor

Forms

supraviețuitor m (plural supraviețuitori, feminine equivalent supraviețuitoare)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian supraviețui + -tor, the verb “to survive” with the agent suffix.^[2][3][4][1] DEX and the dictionary of neologisms add that it was modelled on French survivant.^[2][5] The verb itself is supra- with viețui “to live”, after French survivre.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in Vasile Conta's philosophical works, where only the strongest beings come out of the struggle for life as “victors and survivors”, biruitori și supraviețuitori.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names first someone who outlives another and someone who comes through a disaster alive; by extension, someone who is still alive.^[3][4] Iorga used it figuratively, for people who outlive a dead civilization.^[4] Scriban's example are the survivors of the Titanic.^[7] It is also an adjective, “surviving”, as in Gherea's forma supraviețuitoare “the surviving form” of old beliefs.^[3][8]

Timeline

• 1893–1895 – in Damé's dictionary.^[4]
• 1929 – in Șăineanu's dictionary as an adjective.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A survivor: a person who escaped alive from a disaster, a war or an accident.^[2][3]
2. A person who outlives another.^[2][3][5]

Adjective

1. Surviving, still alive or still existing.^[3][8]

Related words

• supraviețui
• supraviețuire
• viețui
• French survivant

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1078
3. ^ 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, 1068
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. supraviețuitor
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. supraviețuitor
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. supraviețui
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1268
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, 314
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 630