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
From the same root
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
- The act of passing or crossing;[9] în trecere “in passing, hurriedly”.[10]
- A place where one can pass; a structure built so that vehicles can cross an obstacle;[9] trecere de nivel a level crossing.[10]
- (figurative) Esteem or influence that someone enjoys;[9] a avea trecere “to be well regarded”, of goods “to sell well”.[10][6]
- trecere din viață: death.[2][9]
- (obsolete) transgression of a law.[6][2]
Related words
- trecut
- trecător
- treacăt
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Cihac, A. de (1870), Dictionnaire d'étymologie daco-romane I: Éléments latins comparés avec les autres langues romanes, Frankfurt am Main, p. 286
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1143
- ^ 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
- ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 750
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Trecere.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/trecere. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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