următor

Forms

următor m or n (feminine singular următoare, masculine plural următori, feminine/neuter plural următoare)^[1] Older texts write următoriu: „cel drept și următoriu patimii” “the righteous one, a follower of the Passion” (Mineiul, 1776).^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian urma + -ător “to follow”.^[3][4][1] The DLR and MDA2 derive it from the noun urmă “trace, track” with the same suffix, and Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of the noun.^[2][5][6] The noun is of uncertain origin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in the Apostol of the priest Bratul, about 1560.^[4] MDA2 dates its first record to 1650.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the old language the word was often a noun, “follower, imitator”: the Bible of 1688 has the plural următori in the Epistles.^[7][3] It also meant “successor, heir”, of a throne or an estate, and “pursuer”: a text of 1695 says that Mars is not yet tired of stirring up war against his următori.^[4][5] Klein's dictionary of 1801 still glosses urmatóriu with Latin imitator and secutor beside sequens.^[8]

The adjective “following, next” is recorded by 1814 and became the main sense: a calendar of 1814 says that when the sun sets clear, the following day will be fine.^[2] An obsolete sense “current”, of a year or month, is recorded too.^[5][1] As a noun it now names the next person in a queue, called in to be served or questioned.^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – in the Apostol of the priest Bratul, the first record.^[4]
• 1650 – MDA2's first record.^[5]
• 1688 – următori “followers” in the Bucharest Bible.^[7]
• 1695 – următori “pursuers”.^[4]
• 1776 – următoriu in the Mineiul.^[2]
• 1801 – urmatóriu in Klein's dictionary.^[8]
• 1814 – ziua cea următoare “the following day”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. following, next (in space or time): săptămâna următoare “the following week”.^[3][5]
2. Shown or named in what follows: Răspundeți la întrebările următoare. “Answer the following questions.”^[3][9]
3. (obsolete) Who follows advice or an order exactly.^[3][5]

Noun

1. The next person, called in after another to be served or questioned: Următorul! “Next!”^[3][9]
2. (obsolete) A successor, an heir.^[3][1]
3. (obsolete) A follower of a cause or a teaching.^[5][1]

Related words

• urma
• urmă
• urmaș
• urmări

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. următor
3. ^ 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. 1176
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. următor
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1392
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. urmă
7. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. 1 Cor 4:16
8. ^ a b Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 465
9. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. următor