ungher

Forms

ungher n (plural unghere)^[1] The plural is unghere, rarely ungheruri;^[2][3][4] Transylvanian ungheriu and regional unghiar are variants.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *anglārius, the contracted form of Latin angulārius (“placed at a corner”), according to DEX, MDA2 and the DLR.^[5][2][6] Tiktin, whom Ciorănescu follows, takes it from the same Latin adjective, “being in the corner”, and thinks angulāris (“angular”) with a change of suffix less likely, despite Occitan anglar and Old French angler;^[4][7] Pușcariu (article 1817) and the REW started from the neuter of that adjective.^[4][7] Scriban derived it from the noun for “angle” or from the Latin adjective.^[8] The Latin word is formed from angulus (“angle, corner”) with -ārius.^[9][1] The same Latin noun gave Romanian unghi, with the change of initial /a/ to /u/ that Ciorănescu compares in umbla.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1655.^[4] MDA2's earliest record is Negruzzi, whose collected writings appeared in 1872: a man comes into a house, greets those present and „într-un ungher se pune” “sits down in a corner”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The basic sense is the corner of a room, where two walls meet, and rarely the outer corner of a building.^[6][5] In folk laments the house's “four corners” are addressed with its four walls, and in Eminescu cobwebs gather „prin unghere” “in the corners”.^[4][6] From the corner as a hidden place came “retreat, nook” and “remote place”: Eminescu asks whether there is no corner of the world left for love.^[10][2] Popular and regional senses name things in a corner: a triangular corner cupboard, the space beside or behind the stove, a wall niche, and, as a masculine noun, the corner posts of a house.^[2][5] A strânge pe cineva la ungher “to drive someone into a corner” means to force him to do something.^[2]

Timeline

• 1655 – first record cited by Tiktin.^[4]
• 1872 – Negruzzi's writings, MDA2's first record.^[2]
• 1893–1895 – Damé records it as a Moldavian word for “corner”.^[11]
• 1931 – CADE gives ungher as Moldavian and Bukovinian and ungheriu as Transylvanian.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A corner of a room, where two walls meet.^[5][1]
2. A secluded, hidden place; a nook.^[5][10]
3. (popular) A triangular cupboard set in the corner of a room.^[5][2]
4. (regional) A niche in the wall where everyday things are kept.^[2]

Related words

• unghi
• colț
• cotlon
• Latin angulus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1374
3. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. ungher
4. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. ungher
5. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1171
6. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. ungher
7. ^ a b c 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. unghi
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1378
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 581
11. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. ungher