tatuaj

Forms

tatuaj n (plural tatuaje)^[1] Odobescu writes tatovagie, of the Dacians, who did not wear „tatovagie pestrițe” “colourful tattoos”.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French tatouage.^{[4][3][2][5][6][1]} The French noun is formed on tatouer (“to tattoo”) with the suffix -age.^[1] The French verb was borrowed in 1772 from English tattoo, first in a translation of Cook's journal; the English word comes from a Polynesian word.^[7] The Romanian verb tatua is borrowed from the French verb.^[8][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR cite Odobescu's writings, in the edition of 1887, as the first record, in the form tatovagie and the sense “tattoo, design on the skin”.^[3][2] The verb is older: MDA2 finds tatua in Genilie's geography of 1851.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the act of tattooing and the design left on the skin.^[4][2] Odobescu's tatovagie matches the old forms of the verb, tatova and tătova, which the DLR and MDA2 compare with German tätowieren.^[2][8][3] A later technical sense is the marking of animals with signs pricked into the skin for identification.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 1851 – the verb tatua in Genilie's geography.^[3]
• 1887 – tatovagie “tattoos” in Odobescu's writings, the first record of the noun.^[3][2]
• 1939 – Scriban records tatuaj as a recent loan.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. tattooing; concretely, a tattoo, the design left on the skin.^[4][3][1]
2. The marking of animals with signs printed into the skin, for identification.^[4][3]

Related words

• tatua

Usage notes

It is pronounced in three syllables, ta-tu-aj; the plural is tatuaje.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. tatuaj
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1161
4. ^ 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. 1, 1105
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. tatuaj
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1300
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. tatouer
8. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. tatua
9. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. tatuaj