tragic

Forms

tragic m or n (feminine singular tragică, masculine plural tragici, feminine/neuter plural tragice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French tragique, with Latin tragicus as a second model, as DEX and MDN give it.^[2][3][1] The DLR names French alone, the DN compares Italian tragico, and Tiktin explained the oldest records from Modern Greek τραγικός (tragikós) and the Italian word.^[4][5][6] Scriban derived it from Ancient Greek τραγικός (tragikós).^[7] The Latin adjective is from that Greek word, “of tragedy”, itself formed on τράγος (trágos, “male goat”).^[1][8]

Older Romanian also had the adjectives traghicesc and tragodicesc, both used by Cantemir in his Istoria ieroglifică.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1703.^[6] The modern form is entered in Bobb's dictionary of 1822, the first record MDA2 gives, and Negulici's dictionary of neologisms explains it in 1848 as “relating to tragedy” and, figuratively, “fatal, calamitous”.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of the theatre: belonging to tragedy, and as a noun a writer of tragedies or a tragic actor.^[2][4][7] The figurative sense “shattering, grievous, fatal”, for events of real life, is recorded from Negulici and Negruzzi on.^[10][4] Tragicul also became the name of an aesthetic category, the fall of human values that had not yet spent their strength, and colloquial Romanian uses the phrase a o lua în tragic “to make a tragedy of it”.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1703 – the first record Tiktin gives.^[6]
• early 18th century – traghicesc and tragodicesc in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[6]
• 1822 – in Bobb's dictionary, the first record MDA2 gives.^[9]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms, with the figurative sense “fatal”.^[10]
• 1870 – the noun tragicul “the tragic genre” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Belonging or relating to tragedy; having the character of a tragedy.^[2][9]
2. (figurative) Shattering, grievous, fatal.^[2][12]
3. (colloquial) Causing great trouble; catastrophic.^[3][9]

Noun

1. (neuter) The tragic: an aesthetic category, the downfall of human values or heroes that had not yet exhausted their strength.^[2]
2. (masculine, rare) A writer of tragedies; also a tragic actor.^[2][7]

Related words

• tragedie
• tragism

Usage notes

A o lua în tragic means to treat an unpleasant event as more serious than it is.^[2][12] The form serves as the first element tragi-, tragico- of learned compounds.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1135
3. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. tragic
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
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. tragic
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1335
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1251
10. ^ a b c 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
11. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 629
12. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. tragic