veronică

Forms

veronică f (plural veronici)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowed from Latin veronica, the botanists' Latin name of the plant genus.^[2][3][4][1] DEXI gives French véronique beside the Latin, and the neologism dictionaries give the French word alone.^[5][6][7]

Scriban derives the Latin plant name from the name of Saint Veronica, the Latin form of the Greek name Ancient Greek Βερενίκη (Bereníkē), and notes that Italian veronica and Spanish verónica are stressed on another syllable.^[2] Wiktionary describes Veronica as a late variant of Berenīcē, influenced by Ecclesiastical Latin vera icon (“true image”).^[1] For the Italian plant name, DELI reports the view of Körnicke and Foerster that it arose from a misprint of vetonica, an older plant name.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Lexicon de la Buda of 1825, which glosses veronică as a plant, Veronica officinalis, with the German name Ehrenpreis.^[9] DLR also cites it from Iordache Golescu, Costinescu's dictionary and Brandza's flora.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word named the common speedwell, which folk speech calls ventrilică.^[9][10] In the botanical literature it was extended to the other species of the genus, such as Veronica beccabunga, popularly bobornic, and several species that folk names call șopârliță.^[3][11] Brandza's flora named further species with phrases: veronică de câmp for Veronica arvensis and veronică de primăvară for Veronica verna.^[3] The neologism dictionaries note the plant's medical use as an antiscorbutic and diuretic.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1825 – veronică “speedwell” in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[9]
• 1870 – recorded in Costinescu's dictionary.^[3]
• 1942 – listed in Coteanu's first list of Romanian plant names, MDA2's first record.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. speedwell: any of several herbaceous plants of the genus Veronica, especially Veronica officinalis, used in folk medicine.^{[3][11][6][1]}
2. veronică de câmp: Veronica arvensis, with hairy leaves and small sky-blue flowers.^[3]
3. veronică de primăvară: Veronica verna, with a thin stem and light green opposite leaves.^[3]

Usage notes

The plural is veronici;^[3] DLR records a rare old plural veronice in Iordache Golescu.^[3]

The dictionaries of neologisms record two more nouns veronică, each with its own source.^[6][7][12] In church use a veronică is the image of Christ's face printed on a cloth, or the cloth itself, a borrowing of Italian veronica, named after the woman who in the legend wiped Christ's face on the way to Calvary.^[6][11] In bullfighting it is a pass in which the matador lets the bull run past him, from French véronique and Spanish verónica, the name of the cape.^[6][7][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1401
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. veronică
4. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. veronică
5. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas
6. ^ a b c d e f Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
7. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
8. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 751
10. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 694
11. ^ 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, 1462
12. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. veronică