valabil

Forms

valabil m or n (feminine singular valabilă, masculine plural valabili, feminine/neuter plural valabile)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French valable, a neologism of the 19th century.^[2][3][4][1] Damé still marked it as a neologism in the 1890s.^[5] The Dicționar de neologisme compares Latin valabilis as well.^[6] The French adjective is formed from valoir (“to be worth”) with the suffix -able, as Scriban already noted.^[1][7] The French verb continues valeō (“to be strong, be well”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR give the first record from Iordache Golescu's manuscript dictionary, Condica limbii rumânești (about 1832), in the legal sense: of a document or act, meeting the conditions the law requires.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense came first, of guarantees, sentences, tickets and wills that are in force.^[8] In 1860 a notice in Dâmbovița asked applicants to come “with valid guarantees”, and Caragiale wrote of excursion tickets that were valid until Wednesday.^[8] Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 defined it as “admissible, acceptable in court”.^[9]

The general sense, “acceptable, true, sound”, spread at the same time: Scriban gives both a valid ticket and a valid excuse.^[7][8] In colloquial and slang use the word is said of people: a decent, understanding, capable person.^[3][10]

Timeline

• c. 1832 – first record, in Iordache Golescu's Condica limbii rumânești.^[3][8]
• 1860 – “valid guarantees” in the newspaper Dâmbovița.^[8]
• 1870 – in Costinescu's dictionary, with the French valable.^[9]
• 1893–1895 – Damé labels it a neologism.^[5]
• 2007 – the slang sense “decent, understanding”, of people.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Accepted or recognised as good, true or authentic; sound, well founded: un argument valabil.^[2][3]
2. (law) Of a document or act: valid, meeting the conditions set by law or by an authority, and so conferring a right: Biletul e valabil o lună.^[2][11]
3. Effective in certain situations.^[3]
4. (colloquial, of people) Decent, understanding; up to the mark.^[3][10]

Related words

• valid
• valoare
• valabilitate
• French valable

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1181
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, 1408
4. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. valabil
5. ^ a b Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. 2
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. valabil
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1389
8. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. valabil
9. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 673
10. ^ a b c Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. valabil
11. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. valabil