uniune

Forms

uniune f (plural uniuni)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French union and directly borrowed from Latin ūniō (“oneness, union”), as DEX, MDA2 and the DLR give it.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary takes it from French and Late Latin.^[1] The DN adds Italian unione, and Tiktin gives only the Italian source, with the old form ⟨unione⟩.^[5][6]

The Latin noun is formed from ūnus (“one”).^[1][7] French took it about 1220; the same Latin word, which also meant a large single pearl and an onion, gave the popular French oignon.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1785, in Șincai's arithmetic, in the old form unione.^[6] MDA2 cites Stamati's dictionary of technical and difficult words (Iași, 1851).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first meant a union or alliance between persons or groups for a common aim.^[3][8] From this came the name of an organization formed by such an alliance, and of a state formed by joining provinces or states.^[2][9] Today it also names the European Union, Uniunea Europeană.^[2]

Timeline

• 1785 – the first record, as unione, in Șincai's arithmetic.^[6]
• 1851 – uniune in Stamati's dictionary.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An organization formed by several firms, foundations, trade unions or parties.^[2]
2. A general name for political, economic or public bodies;^[2] Uniunea Europeană: the European Union.^[2]
3. The joining of provinces or states into a single state; by extension, a state formed in this way; a federation.^[2][5]
4. (dated) An alliance or agreement between persons or groups for a common aim.^[8][3]

Related words

• unire
• unu
• Latin ūniō

Usage notes

The word is pronounced with four syllables, u-ni-u-ne.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1173
3. ^ 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, 1378
4. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. uniune
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. uniune
6. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. uniune
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 584
9. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. uniune