Crăciun

Crãciun Romanian ro: Etymology The etymology has been highly disputed, it is ro unclear whether the word is of Latin or of Slavic origin. Many scholars propose one of several possible Latin derivations, either from la calatio calātiōnem calling, summoning, or from ro la creātiōnem (accusative of la creātiō creation, creature, with the meaning derived from that of the creation or birth of a child, e.g. Jesus' birth on Christmas. Compare the archaic meaning of es criazón person or child living in a house under the authority of another, of the same origin (see es crío and es criar); compare also sc criatzione creation; creature, child and nap criatura child. The Romanian word had an older, archaic meaning of “birth” in church or religious usage, and is also used for the holy image of Christ's birth. Other less frequently endorsed Latin etymologies include: ro la Christī Christ's followed by an uncertain second root, such as la iēiūnium fast; compare sq Kërshëndella, from la Christī nātāle Christ's birth, or ro la incarnatio (in)carnatiōnem incarnation, la crastinum tomorrow, the morrow. See also the Romanian suffix ro -ciune. However, beside rup Crãciun, there is a clearly related Slavic word, dialectal Bulgarian and Macedonian bg Крачу́н winter solstice, Christmas, rsk Крачун, and sk Kračún winter solstice, Christmas, also passed into hu karácsony Christmas. A genuine Slavic etymology would be ro sla-pro *korčiti to step said of the sun “stepping forth” after winter solstice, indicating that the Romanian word is a ro bg - loan. However, since the word is mostly found in South Slavic (Balkan) languages or in ones that have had contact with Romanian (such as Ruthenian), there is the possibility it was absorbed from proto-Romanian speakers instead. Another, somewhat unlikely, proposition is that it is a paleo-Balkan substratum term related to Albanian sq kercu piece of wood, stemming from the pre-Christian tradition of placing branches at houses on the winter solstice or on the Roman festival of Sol Invictus, which took place on the date that later became Christmas. Pronunciation ro /krəˈtʃjun/ [krəˈt͡ʃun] ro LL-Q7913 (ron)-KlaudiuMihaila-Crăciun.wav Proper noun ro proper noun n plural Crăciunuri Christmas Declension Derived terms ro Crăciun fericit ro Moș Crăciun ro pom de Crăciun Proper noun m f ro References ro Holidays Christianity Christmas