teoretic

Forms

teoretic m or n (feminine singular teoretică, masculine plural teoretici, feminine/neuter plural teoretice)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing with several models: borrowed from German theoretisch together with Latin theoreticus in DEX 2009, to which MDA2 and Marcu add French théorétique.^[2][3][4] The 1986 dictionary of neologisms gives German alone, while Tiktin gives the Greek and Latin adjective and NODEX puts Latin first.^[5][6][7] Wiktionary notes that it can also be read as from Romanian teorie + -etic.^[1]

The Latin adjective is borrowed from Ancient Greek θεωρητικός (theōrētikós, “contemplative, speculative”), and Latin opposed it to practicus.^[8][1] The Greek word belongs with θεωρία (theōría, “a looking at, contemplation”) and θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator”).^[9][10][11] Scriban took the Romanian word directly from the Greek and held that French théorique was a false formation, since θεωρικός (theōrikós) meant “relating to shows”.^[12]

The rare noun meaning “theorist” has a separate source: according to the DLR and MDA2, it is from German Theoretiker.^[13][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from Samuil Micu in 1781, with the sense “theoretical”.^[6] MDA2 dates the adjective to Ioan Molnar's book on beekeeping, Economiia stupilor, printed in Vienna in 1785.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first served the new scholarly prose of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, beside the short-lived forms teoreticesc and teoricesc.^[6][3] Physics was divided into a theoretical and an applied part in the Curierul românesc of 1832, and mathematics into matematică teoretică and matematică practică in a later textbook.^[13] The sense “only in theory, not in practice” is in Scriban, who also records the noun “theorist” and the adverb.^[12] MDA2 adds a sense for a person inclined to abstract thought.^[3]

The noun teoretic “theorist” is in Polizu's Romanian–German dictionary of 1857, and Maiorescu used it; the DLR labels it dated, and teoretician has replaced it.^[3][13]

Timeline

• 1781 – first record, in Samuil Micu.^[6]
• 1785 – in Ioan Molnar's Economiia stupilor (Vienna), with the old synonym teoreticesc.^[3][6]
• 1832 – fizică teoretică “theoretical physics” in the Curierul românesc.^[13]
• 1857 – the noun “theorist” in Polizu's Romanian–German dictionary.^[3]
• 1875 – teoreticu glossed with French théorétique in Antonescu's dictionary.^[14]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses the adjective and the noun with German theoretisch and Theoretiker.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. theoretical: relating to theory, based on theory rather than on experiment; concerning the content of ideas.^[2][1]
2. Being only a matter of theory, without effect on practical activity.^[2][3]
3. abstract, conceptual, speculative; of a person, inclined to abstract thought.^[2][3]
4. (adverbial) theoretically, in the abstract: Teoretic, totul e simplu.^[4][3]

Noun

1. (dated, rare) A theorist; now teoretician.^[3][13][1]

Word family

• teoreticește

Related words

• teoremă
• teoretiza
• teoretizare
• teorie

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1118
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1200
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. teoretic
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. teoretic
6. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. teoretic
7. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. teoretic
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
10. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 915
11. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
12. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1311
13. ^ 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. teoretic
14. ^ Antonescu, G. M. (1875), Dictionariu romanu-francesu, Bucuresci: Typografia Curții (Lucrători Associați), p. 311
15. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 642