Néologismes d’origine latine dans les écrits de Dimitrie Cantemir. Hronicul vechimei a romano-moldo-vlahilor

Abstract

Hronicul vechimei a romano-moldo-vlahilor, the first treatise on history written in Romanian, abounds with neologisms of Latin origin, which also represent, more often than not, first attestations in the Romanian literature. Undoubtedly, the occurrence of such words (and, due to the specific socio-cultural background of the epoch, of Greco-Latin origin) in Dimitrie Cantemir’s workmay be properly explained by his knowledge and linguistic refinement. However, one should take into consideration, as an equally appropriate motivation, his intention to modernize the vocabulary of the old Romanian language.

Keywords

• Old Romanian language
• neological literary vocabulary
• Latin influence
• Dimitrie Cantemir