Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word trecere

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1573–1578 Psaltirea Scheiană More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Latin trāiciō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iaciō
Latin trāiciō
Aromanian trec
Romanian trece
Romanian trecere
From the same root
Latin abiciō ← iaciō
Latin adiciō ← iaciō
Latin amiciō ← iaciō
Latin circumiciō ← iaciō
Latin coniciō ← iaciō
Latin dēiciō ← iaciō
Latin disiciō ← iaciō
Latin ēiciō ← iaciō
Latin iactō ← iaciō
Latin iactūra ← iaciō
Latin iactus ← iaciō
Latin iaculum ← iaciō
Latin iniciō ← iaciō
Latin intericiō ← iaciō
Latin obiciō ← iaciō
Latin prōiciō ← iaciō
Latin reiciō ← iaciō
Latin subiciō ← iaciō
Spanish objeto ← iaciō
Latin trāiectus ← trāiciō
Romanian întrece ← trece

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtre.t͡ʃe.re/[1]

Forms

trecere f (plural treceri)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian trece + -re, the long infinitive of the verb used as a noun.[2][3][1] The verb is from Latin trāiciō (“to throw across, cross”), and survives in all four branches: Aromanian trec, Megleno-Romanian trec and Istro-Romanian trec.[4][1] Cihac noted that the Latin verb has no descendant in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Provençal or French.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the 16th-century Psaltirea Scheiană (Psalm 100:3), where the word is used figuratively for the transgression of a law.[6][2] The Bucharest Bible of 1688 has trecerea in the book of Joshua.[7] MDA2's first record is in Șincai's Hronic, on a people crossing the Danube.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The DLR's first sense is the crossing of a place to reach the other side, then a place where one can cross, the movement from one place to another and, figuratively, death, trecere din viață.[2] The Lexicon de la Buda glosses it with the Latin transitus (1825), and Pisone (1865) has trecere din lume, din viață for death.[8][9] Trecere de vreme meant “pastime” in C. Negruzzi.[6] From the 18th century the word also meant “standing, influence”: Axinte writes of a man who had great influence with the Sultan, and a avea trecere means to be well regarded, or of goods, to sell well.[6][10] Gaster's glossary records the senses “passage”, “instability” and “influence”.[11] Regionally trecerea podului is the name of a dance.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1573–1578 – “transgression” in the Psaltirea Scheiană, the first record.[6][2]
  • 1688 – trecerea in the Bucharest Bible (Joshua 18:19).[7]
  • 1825 – the Lexicon de la Buda, “transit, passage”.[8]
  • 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary, “passage, crossing”.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of passing or crossing;[9] în trecere “in passing, hurriedly”.[10]
  2. A place where one can pass; a structure built so that vehicles can cross an obstacle;[9] trecere de nivel a level crossing.[10]
  3. (figurative) Esteem or influence that someone enjoys;[9] a avea trecere “to be well regarded”, of goods “to sell well”.[10][6]
  4. trecere din viață: death.[2][9]
  5. (obsolete) transgression of a law.[6][2]
  • trecut
  • trecător
  • treacăt

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. trecere
  3. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1270
  4. ^ 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. trece
  5. ^ Cihac, A. de (1870), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane I: Éléments latins comparés avec les autres langues romanes, Frankfurt am Main, p. 286
  6. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. trecere
  7. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Iisus Navi 18:19
  8. ^ a b Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 719
  9. ^ a b c d e Pisone, Domițian (1865), Dictionariu românescu, latinescu, germanescu și francescu, lucrat după sistemul Lexiconului de Buda, București: Typografia Ioann Weiss, p. 387
  10. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1143
  11. ^ Gaster, M. (1891), Chrestomatie română: texte tipărite și manuscrise (sec. XVI–XIX), dialectale și populare, cu o introducere, gramatică și un glosar româno-francez, vol. II, Leipzig: Brockhaus / București: Socec, p. s.v. trecere
  12. ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 750

Related etymologies

  • apă · also from Latin
  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Trecere.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/trecere. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·