trafic

Forms

trafic n (plural traficuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French trafic (“trade; traffic”).^[2][3][4][1] DN and Scriban also point to Italian traffico, the source of the French word.^[5][6] French took it from Italian in the 14th century, first adapted as traffitz in 1339; the Italian noun is a deverbal of trafficare, a verb of uncertain origin.^[7][1] The French sense of vehicle traffic was taken from English traffic.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Negulici's dictionary of 1848 records trafic as trade by the exchange of goods.^[8] MDA2 and the DLR date it from Costinescu's dictionary of 1870, in the sense of an economic activity aimed at exchanging goods.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Trade in goods, and in particular trade over long distances, was the first sense; from it came illicit trade and, figuratively, shameful dealing, as in Scriban's nu se face trafic cu onoarea “one does not trade in honour”.^[6][9] The legal term trafic de influență “influence peddling” names the offence of taking money or favours for one's influence over an official.^[2][3] Later dictionaries add the movement of goods and people along a route and the volume of telecommunications, which DEX now gives first.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 1848 – trafic “trade” in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[8]
• 1870 – trafic and the verb trafica “to trade” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[2]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives the figurative sense “illicit trade, shameful profit”.^[9]
• 1955 – the sense “movement of goods and people on a route” in DLRLC.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. traffic: the volume of transport operations by rail, sea, road or air over a period: trafic rutier “road traffic”.^[3][11][1]
2. The total of the telecommunications links made over a given period.^[3][12]
3. trade, economic activity of exchanging goods; especially illicit trade: trafic de droguri “drug trafficking”;^[3][2] trafic de influență “influence peddling”.^[3][2]

Related words

• trafica
• traficant
• Italian traffico

Usage notes

DEX stresses it tráfic and allows trafíc as well;^[3][6] Scriban gave both, with the plurals trafice and traficuri.^[3][6] In Transylvania trafic is also a regional variant of trafică “tobacconist's”, a separate loan from German Trafik and Hungarian trafik.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 1248
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 1135
4. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. trafic
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. trafic
6. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1334
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. trafic
8. ^ a b 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, p. s.v. trafic
9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 660
10. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 464
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. trafic
12. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. trafic