Etymologically
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semnu

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Forms

semnu n (plural seamni or seamne)[1]

  • Plural seamni or seamne.[1][2]
  • Other spellings: SÉMNU, plural seámne, in Papahagi's dictionary;[3] sémnu, articled sémnul, plural seamnile, in Mihăileanu's Romanian-based spelling;[4] σέμνου, plural σεάμνι (sémnu, seámni), in Nikolaidis's Greek script;[5] Σέμνου in Kavalliotis's word list, which its editor reads as semnu.[6]
  • Regional forms: in Karitsa and Fteri the plural is siámni, definite siámnili.[7]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin signum (“mark, sign”),[3][8][1] a derivation Nikolaidis already gave.[5] Pascu lists for the Latin word the senses mark, imprint, trace, seal, standard, omen, gesture and troop, which cover much of the Aromanian range.[8] De Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *sekno- (“statue, sign”) and Proto-Indo-European *sek(h₂)-no- (“cut”), from the root of secō (“to cut”): a sign was first something cut or carved out.[9]

The word is shared with Romanian semn and Megleno-Romanian semn.[10][11] Further west the Latin word gave Italian segno, Occitan senh, Old French seing, Catalan senya, Spanish seña and Portuguese senha.[10][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Kavalliotis's word list of 1770, where Σέμνου translates Modern Greek σημάδι (simádi, “mark, sign”).[6]

Semantic evolution

From the general sense of a sign, mark or trace, the word took on many specialised senses.[13][3] In pastoral life it is the owner's mark on sheep and pack animals, such as a notch in the ear or dyed wool;[3] Papahagi adds that all the animals of one caravan carry the same mark, and that the bell of the lead animal also told others whose caravan was passing, which explains the sense "bell".[3] In Turia the word names a brand or mark on livestock,[14] and in Karitsa and Fteri the ear-mark that owners cut on their sheep.[7] As a token or proof it came to mean the gifts exchanged at an engagement: Mihăileanu quotes tricură cu semnile la isósmă ("they went with the betrothal gifts").[4][13] As a sign from another world it means a wonder, as in este semnu mare ("it is a great wonder").[4][3] On the body it names a wart,[8] a mole, freckles or a vaccination mark,[15] and om cu semnu, "a marked man", is a bad man.[15][8]

Timeline

  • 1770 – Σέμνου “mark, sign” in Kavalliotis's word list.[6]
  • 1894 – semnu “sign; birthmark” in Weigand's glossary.[16]
  • 1901 – sémnu “sign, wonder” in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[4]
  • 1925 – Pascu derives it from Latin signum.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sign, mark or trace; a gesture that conveys something.[13][3]
  2. A target.[13][3][17]
  3. A proof or token; testimony.[13][3]
  4. An owner's mark on sheep or pack animals.[3][7][14]
  5. A bell hung on the neck of livestock.[13][3]
  6. An engagement gift; an earnest given as a pledge of marriage.[13][3][4]
  7. A miracle, wonder.[13][3][8]
  8. A wart; a mole or freckles; a vaccination mark.[8][15]
  9. (plural) Lots, as in arucă seamnile “to draw lots”.[4][8]
  10. Spite.[3]
  • Romanian semn

Usage notes

Cunia also heads a verb semnu "to mark, to vaccinate" and an adjective semnu "wicked, base".[18] Papahagi and Pascu derive the verb from Latin signāre.[19][8] Pascu takes the adjective from the noun, through om cu semnu "a wicked man",[8] while Papahagi compares Modern Greek σεμνός (semnós, “decent, modest”).[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 919
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 1076
  4. ^ a b c d e f Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 460
  5. ^ a b Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα, p. 473
  6. ^ a b c Meyer, Gustav (1895), Albanesische Studien IV: Das griechisch-südrumänisch-albanesische Wörterverzeichnis des Kavalliotis, Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, phil.-hist. Classe 132, p. 104
  7. ^ a b c Ζανέκα, Στεργιανή, Λεξικό ονομάτων και όρων του βλάχικου ιδιώματος της Καρίτσας–Φτέρης Πιερίας (typescript, fieldwork 1985; e-book at vlahoi.net), p. 108
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 155
  9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  10. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001)
  11. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 262
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net)
  14. ^ a b Бара, Мариана; Каль, Теде; Соболев, Андрей Н. (2005), Южноарумынский говор села Турия (Малый диалектологический атлас балканских языков, серия монографий 1), p. 376
  15. ^ a b c Saramandu, Nicolae (2023), Glosar aromân, Fonetică și dialectologie XLII: 103–176, p. 162
  16. ^ Weigand, Gustav (1894), Die Aromunen: ethnographisch-philologisch-historische Untersuchungen, vol. II: Volksliteratur der Aromunen (with a glossary), Leipzig: J. A. Barth, p. 328
  17. ^ Papahagi, Pericle (1905), Basme aromâne și glosar, București: Academia Română, p. 695
  18. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 920
  19. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 939
  20. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 1077