trofeu

Forms

trofeu n (plural trofee)^[1] Old plurals in -euri and -eiuri occur: in 1829 a newspaper reported that the troops gathered „toate trofeiurile (semnele de biruință)” “all the trophies (the signs of victory)”.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French trophée, according to DEX, MDA2, the DLR and Wiktionary.^[5][4][2][1] Tiktin's etymon is borrowed from Italian trofeo, and Marcu and Maneca compare the Italian word.^[3][6] Negulici and Pontbriant set it beside the Latin and Greek words.^[7][8]

The French word comes from Late Latin trophaeum, an altered form of classical tropaeum.^[9] The Latin word is taken from Ancient Greek τρόπαιον (trópaion), the monument raised with the enemy's arms where the rout began, the neuter of τροπαῖος (tropaîos, “of defeat, putting to flight”), from τροπή (tropḗ, “a turning, a rout”).^[9][1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is of 1814.^[3] MDA2 and the DLR start from a newspaper of 1829, in the sense “spoils of war, sign of victory”: „Cinci tunuri și cinci steaguri sînt trofeile (semnele de biruință) acestei izbânde” “five cannon and five flags are the trophies (the signs of victory) of this success”.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Early writers glossed the new word in brackets as semnele de biruință “the signs of victory”.^[2] Negulici (1848) defined it as the spoils of a defeated enemy set up on a tree trunk, and figuratively a victory.^[7] In the 19th century it was used of the heads of enemies set on lances, as in Negruzzi's tale where a head fixed on a lance, a „sângeros trofeu” “bloody trophy”, is offered to Stephen.^[2][3] Later senses are a monument to a victory, an ornament showing the emblems of an art or science, a part of a hunted animal kept for its beauty, and the cup given to the winner of a competition.^[4][11] In thieves' slang it has meant a criminal conviction.^[12]

Timeline

• 1814 – first record.^[3]
• 1829 – trofeile “the trophies, the signs of victory” in a newspaper.^[4][2]
• 1848 – Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[7]
• 1862 – Pontbriant gives the plural trofeuri.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (in antiquity) The armour of a defeated enemy set on a tree trunk as a sign of victory; by extension, a monument raised to a victory or a hero, bearing the arms of the defeated.^[5][4]
2. Spoils of war taken from an enemy; booty.^[5][4]
3. A part of a hunted animal, such as antlers or tusks, kept for its value or beauty: trofee de vânătoare.^[5][13]
4. A cup or ornamental object given to the winner of a sports competition; a trophy.^[5][1]
5. (rare, figurative) A victory.^[4][6]

Related words

• Latin tropaeum
• Ancient Greek τρόπαιον (trópaion)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. trofeu
3. ^ 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. trofeu
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1285
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1149
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. trofeu
7. ^ 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, p. s.v. trofeu
8. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 753
9. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. trofeu
12. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. trofeu
13. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. trofeu