Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word utilizare

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1848 Negulici's dictionary of new words More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
French utiliser
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ūtor
Latin ūtilis
French utile
Romanian util
French utiliser
English utilize
Romanian utiliza
Romanian utilizare
Italian utile
Spanish útil
The word's journey
From the same root
Latin abūtor ← ūtor
Latin ūsitātus ← ūtor
Latin ūsūra ← ūtor
Latin ūsus ← ūtor
Latin ūtēnsilis ← ūtor
Romanian abuz ← ūtor
Latin inūtilis ← ūtilis
Latin ūtilitās ← ūtilis
Latin ūtiliter ← ūtilis

Forms

utilizare f (plural utilizări)[1] It was also written utilisare: „Utilisarea acestei categorii de izvoare... era o inovație” “the use of this category of sources was an innovation” (Iorga).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian utiliza + -re, the long infinitive of the verb used as a noun.[3][4][2][1] The verb is a loan of French utiliser.[4][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the word to Negulici's dictionary of 1848, where utilisare heads the entry for the verb, glossed “to make useful, serviceable”.[3][5] The verb itself is first recorded in Pontbriant's dictionary of 1862.[3]

Semantic evolution

Negulici's “making useful” gave way to the sense of the French verb, “using”: the DLR's quotations, from Iorga on, are all about the use of sources, resources or methods.[5][2] It is a learned synonym of folosire and întrebuințare.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1848 – utilisare in Negulici's dictionary.[3][5]
  • 1862 – the verb utiliza in Pontbriant's dictionary.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of using something; use, utilization: utilizarea apei în agricultură.[4][2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. utilizare
  3. ^ 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, 1401
  4. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1179
  5. ^ a b c Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. utilizare
  6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. utilizare
Cite this entry

“Utilizare.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/utilizare. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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