umbri

Forms

umbri (third-person singular present umbrește, past participle umbrit), 4th conjugation^[1] Old texts also have forms of the 1st conjugation, with the present umbrez: „îngerul îi umbrează” “the angel shades him”, in a text of Aaron quoted by Tiktin.^[2] DLR records them as obsolete and regional.^[3]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian umbră + -i, from the noun for “shade”, according to DEX, MDA2, Tiktin and the DLR.^[4][5][2][3] An older view, held by Densusianu and Pușcariu (article 1800), made it a continuation of Vulgar Latin *umbrīre, from Latin umbrēscō (“to grow shady”);^[6] Ciorănescu reports it and compares Aromanian aumbredz.^[6] Șăineanu also gave the Latin verb as its source, and Wiktionary leaves both possibilities open, comparing Friulian ombrî (“to shade”).^[7][1] The Latin verb is formed from umbra (“shadow, shade”).^[1]

Tiktin notes that the prefixed adumbri is a learned formation modelled on adumbrō, compare Italian adombrare.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Psaltirea Scheiană (about 1573–1578) has it in Psalm 90:4, with the future umbri-te-va “he will overshadow you”, in the figurative sense of protecting.^[2][8][5] Coresi's text of Acts 5:15, quoted by DLR, already has the literal sense: the sick were laid in the street so that Peter's shadow „să umbrească” “might overshadow” some of them.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first meaning is to cast shade on something, to cover it with one's shadow.^[3][4] In the old Bible translations it is the word for the cloud that overshadowed the disciples, „nuor luminat umbri pre ei” “a bright cloud overshadowed them” (Matthew 17:5 in the Bible of 1688), and for the power of the Most High that will overshadow Mary (Luke 1:35), which Tiktin glosses “protect”.^[2] The protective sense was still alive in Beldiman's verse.^[2] The reflexive a se umbri “to seek the shade” is popular; a folk saying quoted by Tiktin warns that a stranger's kindness is like the shade of a thorn bush: when you think you have found shade, you burn all the more.^[2][4]

From shading, the verb came to mean making darker, adding shadows to a drawing or painting, and figuratively dimming or tarnishing: making someone's merit seem smaller, weakening a feeling, veiling the voice.^[5][7] DEX also records a rare sense “to stand out in outline” and a figurative one “to dishonour, compromise”.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1573–1578 – umbri-te-va in the Psaltirea Scheiană, Psalm 90:4.^[2][8][5]
• 1649 – the participle umbrit in Mardarie's Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[9]
• 1688 – the Bucharest Bible uses it for the cloud of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:5) and in Psalm 90:4.^[10][2]
• 1929 – Șăineanu lists the senses “give shade”, “put shadows in a drawing” and figuratively “protect”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To shade, to cast shade on something or give shade.^[4][1]
2. (reflexive, popular) To stay or rest in the shade.^[4][1]
3. To make or become darker in colour or shade.^[4][1]
4. (rare) To stand out in outline.^[4]
5. (figurative) To tarnish, compromise or eclipse someone or something.^[4][5]

Related words

• umbră
• adumbri
• umbros
• umbratic
• Aromanian aumbredz

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. umbri
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. umbri
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1169
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1368
6. ^ a b 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. umbră
7. ^ a b c Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 677
8. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A. (1916), Psaltirea Scheiană comparată cu celelalte psaltiri din sec. XVI și XVII traduse din slavonește, vol. II: Glosarele, București: Socec, p. 400
9. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. umbrit
10. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Mt 17:5