victorie

Forms

victorie f (plural victorii)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowed from Latin victōria (“victory”), the source DEX, DN, MDN, Tiktin and Wiktionary give.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} MDA2, the DLR, NODEX and Scriban add borrowed from French victoire as a second source, a case of the multiple etymology common among Romanian neologisms.^[6][7][8][9] Ciorănescu dates the Latin loan to the 19th century, though the word is already recorded about 1710.^[10][5]

The Latin noun comes from victor (“conqueror”) with the suffix -ia.^[11] The agent noun is formed on the supine of vincō (“to conquer”).^[12] The French word was taken from Latin as victorie about 1080 and refashioned about 1155.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Nicolae Costin's chronicle, about 1710, in the military sense: „s-au sfârșit victoria... cu ușoară trudă și cu puțin sânge” “the victory was won with little toil and little blood”.^[5][7] MDA2 cites the same passage; its year 1601 comes from the chronicle's title, which runs to 1601.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Through the 18th century the word was rare beside the native biruință and izbândă: Cantemir and a document of 1789 have it, and the DLR quotes it from Heliade, Săulescu and Asachi in the 19th century.^[7] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms (1848) still explains it with izbândă and biruință.^[13] The phrase a repurta o victorie “to win a victory” appears in Heliade and Laurian.^[7][9]

From victory in war the word passed to success over a rival in a contest or a sport, to the triumph of an idea or a policy, and to an outstanding result in any field.^[2][6] Șăineanu also records the goddess Victory and a statue of her.^[14]

Timeline

• c. 1710 – victoria “the victory” in Nicolae Costin's chronicle, the first record.^[5][7]
• c. 1717–1723 – minunată victorie “a wondrous victory” in Cantemir's Hronicul.^[7]
• 1789 – „au făcut victorii mare” “they won great victories” in a document.^[7]
• 1848 – Negulici enters it with the glosses izbândă and biruință.^[13]
• 1939 – Scriban records the carriage and two fabric senses.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A victory over an enemy in a war, a battle or an armed revolution; biruință, izbândă.^[2][6]
2. A success in a sports competition, a contest or an examination: echipa a obținut o victorie clară “the team won a clear victory”.^[2][6]
3. The triumph of an idea, a theory or a policy over opposing ones.^[2][4]
4. An outstanding result in a field of activity.^[2][3]

Word family

• victorios

Related words

• biruință
• izbândă
• Latin victōria

Usage notes

Two minor homographs share the spelling.^[7] Victorie (also victoria) was a light open carriage with two seats, from French victoria, recorded in Alecsandri.^[7][6] In Muntenia and Moldavia victorie was also a satin for lining dresses and a starched kerchief, a word of unknown origin.^[7][9] In Maramureș the word describes a sheep with half red, half black wool, also of unknown origin.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1197
3. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. victorie
4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. victorie
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. victorie
6. ^ 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, 1473
7. ^ 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. victorie
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. victorie
9. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1405
10. ^ 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. victorie
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ a b 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. victorie
14. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 696
15. ^ Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. victórie