votcă

Forms

votcă f (plural votci)^[1] Also spelled vodcă, the form of the DLR's first quotation: „Camera era plină de fum, grozav de scîrnavă, cu podelele ude de vin, de bere și de vodcă” “the room was full of smoke, terribly filthy, its floor wet with wine, beer and vodka” (Contemporanul).^[2][3][1] The older form is vutcă: „Boierii așazați pe covoare bea vutcă” “the boyars, seated on carpets, drink vodka” (Russo).^[4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Russian водка (vodka).^{[3][6][2][7][1]} Scriban explains the Russian word as a diminutive of вода (voda, “water”).^[8] Tiktin, followed by Ciorănescu, takes the older form vutcă from Polish wódka instead.^[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is the form vutcă in a register of 1696, with the sense “vodka”.^[5] The derivative vutcar “maker or seller of brandy” appears in a document of 1776 in the Uricariul collection;^[10][9] Ciorănescu dates it to the 18th century.^[10][9] MDA2's first record for votcă is the review Contemporanul.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word names a very strong spirit made from grain alcohol and soft water; in the plural, kinds or servings of it.^[3][6] In the 19th century the form was vutcă: Alecsandri praises a woman who knows how to make good preserves and „vutci de minune” “wonderful vodkas”.^[5] The spellings vodcă and votcă followed the Russian word.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1696 – vutcă in a register, the first record.^[5]
• 1776 – vutcari “vodka makers” in a document of the Uricariul collection.^[10]
• 1783 – vutcar beside rachier “brandy maker” in a document.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. vodka: a very strong spirit distilled from grain alcohol and water of low hardness.^[3][6][1]
2. (in the plural) Kinds or servings of vodka.^[3]

Word family

• vutcar

Related words

• rachiu
• Russian водка (vodka)

Usage notes

The DLR has a separate regional word votcă, mostly in the form otcă, for a weak, low-grade brandy that runs from the still at the start or end of distillation; it is Hungarian votka.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. votcă
3. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1207
4. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 703
5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. vutcă
6. ^ 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, 1515
7. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. votcă
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1423
9. ^ 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. vutcă
10. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. vutcă