uimitor

Forms

uimitor m or n (feminine singular uimitoare, masculine plural uimitori, feminine/neuter plural uimitoare)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian uimi (“to amaze”) + -tor.^[2][3][1][4] The DLR divides it as the verb with the suffix -itor.^[5] The verb's origin is disputed: Ciorănescu and MDA2 derive it from Old Church Slavonic оуѧти (ujęti, “to take away, to steal”), comparing for the sense French ravir and Spanish arrebatar,^[6][2] while Wiktionary calls it of unknown origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Dimitrie Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică (1705, MDA2 writes 1704), with the sense “bewildering”: „căci este mai uimitoare minții” “for it is more bewildering to the mind”.^[5][4][2]

Semantic evolution

From “bewildering” the adjective moved to “astonishing” and then to “admirable, wonderful”.^[2][7] Filimon's novel of 1863 speaks of nature opening „comorile uimitoarelor sale frumuseți” “the treasures of its amazing beauties”.^[8][4] Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 glosses it German “entzückend, blendend” “delightful, dazzling”.^[9] Joined by de to an adjective it works as an intensifier: uimitor de frumoasă “amazingly beautiful”.^[10][2]

Timeline

• 1705 – first record, in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[4][5][2]
• 1863 – uimitoarelor sale frumuseți “its amazing beauties” in Filimon.^[8][4]
• 1886 – Barcianu glosses it “delightful, dazzling”.^[9]
• 1893–1895 – Damé glosses it French étonnant, merveilleux.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. amazing, astonishing, causing great surprise.^[3][1]
2. exceptional, extraordinary, admirable.^[3][7]

Adverb

1. Amazingly; with de before an adjective, very: uimitor de frumoasă “amazingly beautiful”.^[10][2]

Related words

• uimi
• uluitor

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, 1359
3. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1167
4. ^ 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. uimitor
5. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. uimitor
6. ^ 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. uimi
7. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 563
8. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. uimitor
9. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 670
10. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1373
11. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. uimitor