stringu

Forms

stringu (third-person singular strindzi or strindze, participle strimtã or streasã)^[1]

• Verb of the third and second conjugations: simple perfect stresh or strimshu, imperfect strindzeam, participle streasã or strimtã, infinitive strindziri or strindzeari.^[2][1]
• Other spellings: STRÍNGU in Papahagi's dictionary, with the rare northern STRÎ'NGU;^[3][4] stringu, strimşu, strimtă, strindzeare and strindzire in Mihăileanu's Romanian-based spelling;^[5] Dalametra heads it strindziri;^[6] strãngu in Cunia;^[7] the form its editor reads strängu in Kavalliotis's word list, with Weigand's ströngu.^[8]
• Katsanis and Dinas give the aorist streşu and the participle stresu;^[9] in the dialect of Metsovo it is stríngu, aorist -éşu, participle -eásă;^[10] the dialect atlas records string.^[11]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin stringō (“to draw tight, bind”),^[3][1][9] as Pușcariu and Capidan also derive it.^[12][13]

The verb is shared with Romanian strânge and Megleno-Romanian string.^[14][13] Further west the Latin verb gave Italian stringere, French étreindre, Occitan estrenher, Catalan estrenyer and Spanish estreñir;^[15][14] Albanian shtrëngoj (“to squeeze”) was borrowed from it.^[8][12]

De Vaan finds two meanings in Latin stringō, "to tie, tighten" and "to strip off, graze", and explains them as a merger of the PIE roots Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“to draw, tie”), with Ancient Greek στραγγός (strangós, “twisted”), and *strig- (“to brush, strip”).^[16] The Aromanian verb continues the first.^[3][16]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Kavalliotis's word list of 1770, where the verb, read strängu by Meyer, translates Modern Greek σφίγγω (sfíngo, “to squeeze”).^[8]

Semantic evolution

From "to squeeze, tighten" DDA has the senses to stretch, to strain oneself, to force and to become stingy;^[3] Cunia describes it first as pulling tight a cord tied around something, and also as hugging.^[2] Mihăileanu quotes lu strimşu si aspună "I forced him to tell",^[5] and Dalametra the figurative multu si streasi "he has grown very stingy" and hiă stres "I am in straits".^[6] In the dialect atlas string frắmta is "I wrinkle my brow".^[11]

Timeline

• 1770 – strängu (Meyer's reading) “to squeeze” in Kavalliotis's word list.^[8]
• 1901 – stringu in Mihăileanu's dictionary.^[5]
• 1905 – stringu, with its full conjugation, in the glossary of P. Papahagi's tales.^[17]
• 1906 – strindziri “to squeeze; to become stingy” in Dalametra's dictionary.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To squeeze, tighten.^[2][1][3]
2. To embrace, hug.^[2][1]
3. To stretch, tense;^[1][3] (reflexive) to strain oneself.^[1][3]
4. To force, compel.^{[1][3][5][18]}
5. (figurative) To become stingy.^[1][3][6]

Related words

• distringu
• strimtu
• strindzire
• stringãturã
• stringlji
• Romanian strânge
• Megleno-Romanian string

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 977
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 1123
4. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 1125
5. ^ a b c d Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 482
6. ^ a b c d Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 197
7. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 974
8. ^ a b c d 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. 112
9. ^ a b Κατσάνης, Νικόλαος; Ντίνας, Κωνσταντίνος (1990), Γραμματική της κοινής κουτσοβλαχικής, Θεσσαλονίκη: Αρχείο Κουτσοβλαχικών Μελετών, p. 141
10. ^ Δασούλας, Φώτης (2013), Το βλαχικό ιδίωμα του Μετσόβου, 2nd ed.
11. ^ a b Saramandu, Nicolae (2023), Glosar aromân, Fonetică și dialectologie XLII: 103–176, p. 165
12. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 153
13. ^ a b Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 278
14. ^ 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)
15. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
16. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
17. ^ Papahagi, Pericle (1905), Basme aromâne și glosar, București: Academia Română, p. 702
18. ^ Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 288