violent

Forms

violent m or n (feminine singular violentă, masculine plural violenți, feminine/neuter plural violente)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French violent, with Latin violentus (“forcible, vehement”) as a second model: a 19th-century neologism with more than one source.^[2][3][4][1] DEX and Marcu add Italian violento as a third model.^[2][5] Scriban gives only the Latin word.^[6]

The Latin adjective is apparently formed on violō (“to violate, disturb”) with the suffix -entus (“full of”);^[7][1] Lewis & Short and the DHLF relate it to vīs (“force”).^[8][9] French took the word from Latin in the 13th century.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and the DLR give as the first record a passage of Ion Heliade-Rădulescu, quoted from a modern edition of his works, about the prophet Nathan before a king who was „despot, violent şi dominat de pasiuni” “despotic, violent and ruled by his passions”.^[3][4] The first dated record is Negulici's vocabulary of 1848, which glosses it with Romanian words for “forced” and “too harsh”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with both of its modern sides: it was said of people and of things.^[11] Costinescu in 1870 explains it as “impetuous, quick, acting with force” and gives a violent wind, a strong remedy and a violent man, as well as mórte violentă, a death caused by an accident.^[11] Șăineanu's dictionary of 1929 lists a wind acting with great force, a man who cannot master himself, a sharp pain or fever, and means that use force.^[12] Scriban adds a strong poison.^[6]

Of people the word means quick-tempered, brutal and aggressive; the DLR quotes Caragiale and Sadoveanu for this sense.^[4] Of colours and light it means glaring, loud.^[2][13] MDA2 also records senses for insulting language, harsh polemics and films or books full of brutal scenes.^[3]

Timeline

• 1848 – listed in Negulici's vocabulary of neologisms.^[10]
• 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary gives it for persons and things, with mórte violentă “violent death”.^[11]
• 1886 – Barcianu translates it with German heftig and gewalttätig.^[14]
• 1929 – Șăineanu lists four senses, from a strong wind to a death by accident or crime.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Acting or happening with great force; intense, strong; of colours and light, glaring, loud.^[2][13]
2. Of people, easily angered, impulsive, brutal; of behaviour, showing violence or aggression: un bărbat violent “a violent man”.^[2][3]
3. Done by force; brutal: moarte violentă “violent death”, one caused by an outside factor such as an accident.^[2]

Related words

• Latin violentus

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. 1200
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1486
4. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. violent
5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. violent
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1408
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ 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. violent
11. ^ a b c Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 700
12. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 697
13. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. violent
14. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 692