vânător

Forms

vânător m (plural vânători)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vēnātor (“hunter”), from vēnor (“to hunt”) with the agent suffix -tor.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Ciorănescu treats it as a derivative of vâna that may also continue the Latin word directly, and the DLR derives it from the verb with the suffix ⟨-tor⟩, comparing the Latin noun.^[6][7] Wiktionary notes the same double analysis.^[1]

Ciorănescu compares Occitan venador, Spanish venador and French veneur.^[6] The Aromanian word is avinãtor.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană (c. 1573–1578), Psalm 90:3, in the sense “hunter”, in the verse that promises deliverance from the hunter's snare.^[4][8] MDA2 dates it from Coresi's Carte de învățătură of 1581.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The core sense “hunter” has not changed.^[3][7] In the old religious language a vânător de oameni was a preacher of the faith: Varlaam has „voi face pre voi vânători de oameni” “I will make you hunters of men”; the word could also mean “fisherman”.^[2][9] In the Middle Ages vânători were soldiers of the prince's guard or mercenaries, and later a unit of foot and horse;^[2] vânători de munte are today's mountain troops.^[2][3][6]

A figurative, pejorative sense is someone who chases a post or advantage by any means.^[3] Recent press language has vânător de capete “head-hunter”, after the English head-hunter.^[10] In thieves' slang a vânător is a train conductor.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1573–1578 – vînătorului “of the hunter” in the Psaltirea Scheiană, Psalm 90:3.^[4][8]
• 1581 – vânător in Coresi's Carte de învățătură, MDA2's first record.^[2]
• 1660 – vînător glossing Slavonic words in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[12]
• 1688 – vânătorilor in the Bucharest Bible, Psalm 90:3.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hunter, someone who hunts game.^[3][1]
2. (figurative, pejorative) Someone who tries by any means to get a post or advantage he does not deserve: un vânător de zestre “a dowry hunter”.^[3][9]
3. (historical) A soldier of an old military unit of foot and horse.^[3]
4. vânător de munte: an infantryman trained and equipped to fight in the mountains.^[3]

Word family

• vânătoresc

Related words

• vâna
• vânat
• vânătoare
• Aromanian avinãtor
• Latin vēnātor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1433
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. 1187
4. ^ 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. vânător
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. venator
6. ^ 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. vâna
7. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. vânător
8. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 90:3
9. ^ a b Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. vânător
10. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. vânător
11. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. vânător
12. ^ 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. vînător
13. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Ps 90:3