toapsec

Forms

toapsec n (plural toapsece)^[1] Cantemir also writes toapsăc and toampsăc: „Din slovele corbului toampsăcul răului i se cunoaște” “from the raven's words the poison of evil shows”.^[2] The regional forms toapsică and topsică are feminine.^[3][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin toxicum (“poison”), as Tiktin, Candrea and the REW give it.^{[4][5][3][2][1][6]} Ciorănescu notes Tiktin's doubts but judges it an inherited word, though it is rare and recorded only from the late 17th century on.^[4] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón, “arrow poison”), from τόξον (tóxon, “bow”).^[7][1]

It survives south of the Danube as the adjective Aromanian toapsec “venomous”.^[8][6] Romance cognates are Italian tossico, Sardinian tosku and Occitan tueisec.^[4][6] The verb topseca “to poison” continues the Latin verb made from the same noun.^[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in Dimitrie Cantemir, in the Istoria ieroglifică of 1705 and the Hronicul: „Supt unghea degetului mai vrăjmaș toapsec decât supt dintele viperii stă” “a more hostile poison lies under the fingernail than under the viper's tooth”.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

Cantemir uses it for poison and venom, and figuratively: „Cine înghite zahărul vicleșugului, acela borăște toapsecul sufletului” “whoever swallows the sugar of guile vomits the poison of the soul”.^[5][2] The word went out of use in the standard language; dialects kept it with other senses: toapsică for venereal disease, toapsec for dysentery in curses („mânca-te-ar toapsecu!”), and in Oltenia an adjective “very bitter”.^[2][3][10]

Timeline

• 1705 – toapsec and toapsăc in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică, the first record.^[5][2]
• 1717–1723 – toapsec in Cantemir's Hronicul.^[2][3]
• 1893–1895 – Damé lists it as an old word for “poison”, from Cantemir.^[11]
• 1939 – Scriban records the sense “dysentery”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) poison, venom.^[3][2][1]
2. (regional, as toapsică) A venereal disease.^[3][2]
3. (rare) dysentery, diarrhoea.^[3][2]

Adjective

1. (regional, Oltenia) Very bitter, bitter as gall.^[3][2]

Word family

• topsicătură

Related words

• topseca
• toxic
• Aromanian toapsec
• Latin toxicum

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. toapsec
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, 1231
4. ^ a b c d 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. toapsec
5. ^ 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. toapsec
6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 8818
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1039
9. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1242
10. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1327
11. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. toapsec