Re: [tied] Old Names for Months of the year

From: Rex H. McTyeire
Message: 13022
Date: 2002-04-05

A. Moeller offers:

Modern Terminology    =    Old Terminology

IANUARIE               =     Gerar
FEBRUARIE            =    Faurar

MARTIE                  =     Martisor
APRILIE                  =     Prier

MAI                         =      Florar

IUNIE                      =     Ciresar
IULIE                      =      Cuptor
AUGUST                =      Gustar

SEPTEMBRIE        =      Rapciune

OCTOMBRIE         =     Brumarel
NOIEMBRIE           =    Brumar

DECEMBRIE         =     Undrea (or) Andrea

 

Of interest to me as well, and I have been asking about locally. The pairing of old and new..if that is in fact the case (?) (the references call the right column month names: “popular”)  is carried forward most prominantly on the calendars published by the Romanian Orthodox Church (2001 and 2002 examples about the house.)   Older people in agrarian communities in the countryside still use the right column versions: Moldova and elsewhere.  New school generations (students under ten) are not exposed, and are not familiar with them (at least in the city). Older students (later teens and twenties) from outside the cities have been exposed to them..but do not clearly understand the differences and origin, and don’t use them. I don’t hear or see them as month references used in Bucharest (except on the church calendars.)

 

Fragmented..as I look for more J. (Some show up in dictionaries as related to the month..others do not.)  It seems Paul Alesu referring to the activities or nature of work in the month for December/knitting is close to where most of the terms go. (calendar use/general use )

 

Gerar:  Wolf Month  / ger = frost, geros = frosty, geruial(a) = frosty weather

          Interesting: ghe(t)ar = glacier, ghe(t)(a)rie = ice house , ghea(t)(a) = ice

          While: ghear(a) = claws and sometimes teeth, jaw, so that

ghearele mor(t)ii = 1. jaws of death, or 2. death by wolves.      

F(a)urar: Smith Month /fauri = to create, forge, manufacture

M(a)r(t)i(s)or: ~ /an amulet, or specific March badge (now worn on chest, given widely now as a traditional seasonal gift thru March, oldest component is spiralled red and white thread: (old?) snow and (new?) blood.)

Prier:  ~/~ (unknown: I am without any reference or hint here beyond “April”..a wild shot is “travel” or “visit” related.)

Florar: Flower Month /floare = flower, bloom, blossom

Cire(s)ar: Cherry Month/cire(s) = sweet cherry, cire(s)iu = cherry colored

Cuptor: Hot Month / oven, furnace, heat source

Gustar:  Harvest Month, Plenty Month /slang for tasty,  gust/a = to taste, gustare = snack

(also relish, enjoy, appreciate)

R(a)pciune:   ~ /~ (possibly related to drying and storing plants, hay, feed for livestock through the seasons?) 

Brum(a)rel: Wine month/ little hoarfrost, Son of Brumar

Brumar:  ~ / hoarfrost

A/I/Undrea: ~ Weavers Month/ knitting needle, girls name

 

(PS for A. Moeller: The MS Windows disks I have used here have the language/type and some varied fonts for Romaneste, at least to convert a US keyboard when the options are selected, installed and switched on. On a US keyboard the program just borrows some symbol keys for the extra letters, but it doesn’t work on e-mail unless the direct recipient < also >  has both the language switching software and Eastern Europen languages selected as an option, installed, then set to Romaneste.  I have no idea what the yahhoo mixmaster would do to it J, and use it rarely: but others in the household use it to compose and print..but not to e-mail even friends. )      

 

Cu Stima;

Rex H. McTyeire

From: altamix [
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 9:43 PM
Subject: [tied] Old Names for Months of the year

 

I got here from a friend the old names from romanian, for the months of the year.

I personally  have no ideea if there is something strange or not but they are somehow different from the rumanian literature from today.I wonder if you as lingvists see something there comparative with what ever you think about:)

 

Moreover i should love if someone could give me an adress where I can find how I can write with normal letter such kind of compositions or strange sounds where for, with my german keyboard , i could write these. I mean if for "ö"  or "ä" or "ü" I can write "oe", "ae", "ue", for the exemples which I got bellow, I have no clue how I can write them. I speak for an "â", an "ã", a strange "t" with a comma under it and its pronounciation is like in the german Zimmer, a "s" with a comma under wich will has to be pronounciated as "Sch" in german , a group "ce " like in german "tsch" and so on.. It will be great if i could learn it:)

 

 

So, now to topic:

 

I dont know if I make the situation more complicated, but I asked for the ethymology from the romanian of these words and I  got these explanations:

Gerar for January      =derivated form from "ger". "Ger" means "frost" and it comes from latin "gelu"

Faurar for February   =popular form o the latin word "febr(u)arius" .The first a is a very close a , in their alphabet is the letter "ã" for this sound

Martisor for March    =no ethymology given ( the pronounciation is kinda mártzischor, i have no clue how i can write it) , again this "ã" and not t but t with a comma under

Prier for April           = ethymology is latin word "Aprilis"

Florar for May          = no ethymology is given even if we have there tha latin word "flos,-ris"

Ciresar for Juny       = no ethymology given , but we have the latin word "ceresius"=kirsch, cherry.the pronounciation is likely "tschireschar"."s" has a comma under it

Cuptor for July        = form latin coctorium

Gustar for August   = form latin august +sufix "ar"

Rapciune for September= unkown ethymology.I got the explanation that this month was very adecvate for horses to become ill of sickness caled "rapciuga". No

                                      ideea what a sickness is this. Again in this word "rapciuga" both a are in fact this "ã".

                                     The horses became ill, a contagious sickness, the respiration becam very hard and they got some ulcerations on the nasal mucose or 

                                      so.. brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Brumarel for October =diminutiv from next month from Brumar.Hier "a" is too "ã"

Brumar for November=from bruma which is from latin word "bruma".

Undrea or andrea for December=unknown ethymology. Andrea or undrea means so far as knitting-nedle

 

Well, I hope I am not booring you with this and if I do it, please tell me so I have to stop with this dacian subject.

 

 

Best Regards

 

A. Moeller

 

 



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.