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Sapovici — Mic Glosar de Cuvinte Expresive de Origine (Neo)Greacă
sapovici-mic-glosar-expresive.md

Processed from: MIC_GLOSAR_DE_CUVINTE_EXPRESIVE_DE_ORIGI.txt

Date Compiled: 2026-04-12

Sapovici — Mic Glosar de Cuvinte Expresive de Origine (Neo)Greacă

Author: Anca Mihaela Sapovici

Source: Editura Academiei Române, București

Type: Lexical glossary / peer-reviewed

Topic: Romanian expressive words of (Neo-)Greek origin — semantic evolution and stylistic depreciation

Summary

Micro-glossary of over 100 Romanian words borrowed from (Neo-)Greek that have undergone significant stylistic depreciation. Sapovici presents these entries alphabetically, analyzing each from both a stylistic-semantic and historical-phonetic perspective. The work is part of a broader project toward a monographic study of Romanian words borrowed from Greek across three periods of linguistic contact.

Key Periodization

Period 1: Old Romanian (secolele al XVI-lea — 1780)

From the first Romanian texts until the completion of literary Romanian unification. First wave of Greek immigration, notably under Radu Mihnea (ruled Moldavia and Wallachia without interruption until 1626).

Period 2: Phanariot Proper (1711/1716 — 1821)

Greek-speaking rulers from Constantinople's Phanariot families. Greek as language of administration, commerce, church, and culture. "Greaca era socotită... limba pe care o folosim azi și cu ajutorul căreia... unii se vor exprima în public, altii vor da sentințe la tribunal, alții își vor exprima nevoile și ideile în fața concetățenilor" (Iosif Moesiodax, professor at the domnesc academies of Iași and București).

Period 3: Post-Phanariot (1821 — late 19th century)

After 1821, Greek influence was not eliminated — it continued until the late 19th century, eclipsed only by French cultural prestige.

Why Greek Words Became Expressive

  1. **Nationalist ideology** — return to Latinity, anti-Phanariot sentiment
  2. **French replacement** — significant influx of French and Italian neologisms
  3. **Anti-Phanariot literary tradition** — authors (Alecsandri, Negruzzi, Ion Ghica, Caragiale, Eminescu) created a negative typology of the Phanariot figure
  4. **"Instrumentalizarea negativă a fanarioților"** — negative instrumentalization of Phanariots in nation-building

Sapovici emphasizes that Greek was competing with Turkish in the Romanian Principalities — both were "foreign" influences, but Greek was considered more culturally prestigious. The stereotype of the rapacious Phanariot ("unică preocupare era aceea de a se îmbogăți prin orice mijloace") colors all Greek-origin vocabulary.

Selected Entries

afierosi

From Greek (ἀφιερώνω — to dedicate, consecrate). In the Phanariot period used with explanatory synonyms (a afierosi cu daul, miluitul, închin). Example from church donation texts: "au afierosit-o și au dăruit-o... maicii cei de obște a tuturor, sfânta biserică". Modern Romanian: archaic, used ironically. A typical example of code-switching from the Greek-speaking period.

aghiós / aghiufă

From Neo-Greek ἄγιος (holy, saint). In church context: "Să ne închinăm Tatălui... strigând: Aghios, Aghios, Aghios esti Doamne!" (Dosoftei). In modern Romanian: Caragiale popularized the ironic sense — "Ei, măi băieți, ia amu trageți la aghioase!" — playing on the familiar register. Aghiufă (diminutive with -uță): "Necuratului fii mai zic Rumânii...: naiba, aghiuță..." — a metaphorical extension.

agonisi

From Byzantine Greek ἀγωνίζομαι (to struggle, to strive). Romanian: "a dobândi, a câștiga prin muncă." First attested early 16th century in Psaltirea Hurmuzaki. Retained its neutral meaning and stylistic category for centuries — unlike most Phanariot borrowings, agonisi did not undergo semantic degradation. See: [[sapovici-note-etimologice]].

aht / ahtiát

From Neo-Greek ἄχτι (desire, ardent longing) or ἄχος (pain, grief). Romanian ahtiat = "doritor, înfocat după ceva, stăpânit de o dorință puternică." First attestations late 19th century. Sapovici debates the etymology — whether from ἄχτι or from Turkish ahit (obligation, engagement). Note: ax exists in Greek as an interjection akin to Romanian ah — an onomatopoeic formation expressing pain or strong emotion.

berbant

From Neo-Greek μπερμπάντης (rascal, scoundrel), ultimately from Italian berbante, from Spanish bergano. Romanian: "om care face curte la femei, care se 'ne de craiuri, care umblă după femei" — also "hoț, pungăș, șarlatan." Present in Turkish and Bulgarian as well. A late borrowing via Greek of a Western European term.

calimeră

From Greek καλημέρα (good morning) — used in the Romanian expression "a (se) schimba calimera" = "to change one's attitude toward someone." Iorgu Iordan first identified the Greek origin. The expression was widespread in Romanian and survived in Aromanian as well. Sapovici notes the expression is a partial calque on Greek patterns of social address.

catadicsi

From Greek καταδέχομαι (to accept, to condescend). Romanian: "a găsi de cuviință, a socoti de demnitatea sa; a binevoi" — used with negative connotation: "Cuconasii din Iași nici nu catadixesc să se uite la bietele copile!" (Negruzzi). One of the most familiar and widespread Phanariot borrowings. Used in administrative language; acquired ironic overtones in Pasoptist literature.

caragată / garagă

From Greek καραγκάζω / καραγκάθα (cotofană, jackdaw) — a bird whose name is onomatopoeic. Romanian: "femeie care nu mai tace din gură, găita." Also: "a face caragăți" — "a face glume pe socoteala cuiva." The word passed into Romanian onomastics (place names Părăginoși, Părăginoasa). Sapovici notes the Greek may itself be from Turkish karga (crow) — a pan-Balkan word.

gargară

From Greek γαργάρα (gargling, gargle) — onomatopoeic. Romanian: "clătire a gurii și a gâtului cu lichid dezinfectant." Also figuratively: "vorbe goale, fără Logică, fără șir." In modern Romanian, also an argotic term.

iotă

From the Greek letter ι (iota). Romanian: "nimic, boabă, cioră, ioc" — nothing at all. The semantic shift: in Greek biblical texts, not even an iota (οὐδὲ μία ἰῶτα) could be changed in Scripture, hence "not one iota" = absolutely nothing. An elegant example of semantic transfer via religious literacy.

lefter / leftere / lefterie

From Neo-Greek ἐλεύθερος (free, independent). Romanian: "lipsit complet de bani; sărac lipit." Entered Romanian in the second half of the 19th century, possibly in connection with Balkan national emancipation movements. Interesting because it preserves the etymological Greek sense of freedom/liberty while acquiring a pejorative financial meaning — the "free" person as one without means. Derivatives: lefteri, leftere, lefterie — "a-și mânca lefteria" = to lose one's reputation as an honest person along with one's money.

mitocan

From μητόπολη (metochon — monastery subordinate property). Romanian: "om de rând; om cu comportări grosolane, bădăran, mojic." The word derives from metoc (monastery property, attested from late 16th century). Mitocan appears to be a specifically urban Bucharest formation. Caragiale played a major role in establishing its modern negative connotations — linking it to the Phanariot social type. The semantic degradation reflects the broader stigmatization of the Greek-influenced urban class.

Key Argument: The Mechanism of Depreciation

Sapovici's central insight: borrowed words carry the emotional charge of their era. When Greek was prestige, these words were neutral. When Greek became associated with foreign domination and cultural inferiority, the same words acquired negative connotations — even as speakers forgot their Greek origins.

*"Originea străină a unui termen poate evoca o anumită atmosferă spirituală caracteristică pentru o epocă din viața poporului nostru sau pentru o categorie socială."*

Sources

Status

Replaced OCR version with proper text extraction from new PDF source. Greek terms partially preserved; verify against original publication for diacritics.

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