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DRAGOSTE · DRAGOSTЬ · DRAGЪ

Why is love called dearness?

Dragoste comes from Slavic dragostь — “dearness”, from dragŭ “dear” + -ostь. Slavic still keeps the word for joy, charm, price; only Romanian keeps it for love, attested since 1561. And the verdict is written in dictionaries.

Pull the thread

1561
“dragostea lu Dumnezeu”, at Coresi
0×
dragostь in the canonical Old Slavic texts
1871
The Glossariu declares it dead — wrongly
A Marianus leaf: the precious ointment — müra draga, from Mt 26:7The Bucharest Bible: “Dragostea mult îngăduiaște”Allegory of Love: what the cousins keep for other things
Three pictures, one survivor:
Marianus, the Bible, Veronese: three ways of seeing one love.

Contents

  1. Thread
  2. Years
  3. Cousins
  4. Witnesses
  5. The tally
  6. Three dates
  7. Dispute
  8. Game
  9. Sources

The page machine

The thread, link by link

Seven links, three languages. Press each piece: see which language it comes from and which dictionary holds it. The RO/LA/SL labels show the language; the -ostь suffix is the thread itself.

dragoste today's Romanian RO

DEX '09: “– Din sl. dragostĭ” — with Slavic ĭ. Feminine noun, love. (DEX)

drag the dear one RO

DEX '09: “– Din sl. dragŭ” — loved, dear, priceless. MDA2: old “scump”. (DEX)

dragostь Old Slavic SL

ESSJa, V, p. 76: “*dorgostь… Производное с суфф. -ostь от прилаг. *dorgъ” — with no Slavic form cited. (ESSJa)

dragŭ the Slavic dear SL

Derksen, p. 113: “*dôrgъ… 'dear'… Etymology unclear” — OCS dragŭ “dear”. No PIE root. (Derksen)

ljubiti the rival SL

DEX, s.v. iubi: “– Din sl. ljubiti” — the second Slavic verb of love, on another thread. (DEX)

amor Latin LA

Glossariu 1871, p. 232: “DRAGOSTE, s. f., amor, caritas” — the proposed replacement. (Glossariu)

caritas Latin mercy LA

Same page: “amore, caritate, affectione” — the “curatu romanice” words called in. (Glossariu)

PIE does NOT enter the machine: Derksen says “Etymology unclear”, Vasmer “вероятно”, Brückner “Innych odpowiedników brak” — the root is missing with documents, not with a hole.

At home

From Coresi to the Bible: 1561–1688

The 16th century speaks early — the Tetraevangelion cannot wait; from 1561, dragoste flows: missals, sermon books, psalms, bibles.

1561: the Tetraevangelion

Coresi, Brașov, Lk 11:42: “…trecut judecata și dragostea lu Dumnezeu”. Timuș ed. 1889, p. 147. The oldest citable page. (Coresi)

1570: the same press

The Missal: “și dragostea domnului și a tatălui… fie cu toți voi” (2 Cor 13:13). Same decade, another book — not “EV. 33”. (Coresi)

The drăg- family

a îndrăgi (Coresi, EV. 54); drăgăstos (Varlaam, Cazania 1643); drăgălaș (Dosoftei 1673); drăguț (Anon. Car., c. 1700). From dragoste + -os, from drag + -uț. (MDA2, DEX)

1688: the Bible

1 Cor 13: “…și dragoste nu am… Dragostea mult îngăduiaște…” (list 871); Song 8: “tare e ca moartea dragostea”. After the Latin scan, uncollated. (Biblia)

What was not found

Palia 1582: suspected, unquoted. Dosoftei: no verse with dragoste found. The “milostenie” sense: no dictionary gives it — the page does not claim it. (holes)

Ancient glass vessel for ointment
Glass alabastron: the precious ointment — müra draga, in Marianus. Photo: J. Paul Getty Museum, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Coresi, 1561 (scan) →

The same word, other senses

Cousins: joy, charm, price — anything but love

Eleven cousins, none of them in love: Bulgarian keeps joy, Serbian keeps charm, the East keeps price — or nothing.

South: joy and charm

Bg. драгост: “Приятно чувство, удоволствие, радост” — pleasant feeling, pleasure, joy; archaic and poetic (RBE). Cr. dragost: “…stanje ushićenosti” — a state of rapture (Školski). Sr. 1898, regional: “О радости, велика драгости!” (Vuk). Slovenian: “lastnost dragega” — the dearness of the dear (SSKJ). Joy, not love. (RBE, Školski)

Once amor: RJA

RJA, II: DRAGOST “aa) caritas, amor… ljubav” (Marulić, Kašić…) — literary Serbo-Croatian once touched love, in the 16th–18th centuries. The only touch — then the word withdrew toward charm. (RJA)

West: old price

Czech: *drahost asterisked only, the living word is drahota (SSJČ, PSJČ). Slovak: drahosť zero — drahota lives (Lingea). Polish: drogość “high price”, historical only (Doroszewski). Price, not love. (SSJČ, PWN)

East: a hole with witnesses

Russian: дорогость zero (Dahl, Ozhegov, Vasmer 404s) — дороговизна holds the slot. Ukrainian: “Слово 'дорогість' відсутнє в базі!” — дорожнеча stands. Belarusian: “ня знойдзена” — дарагавізна, дарагоўля stand. (Dahl, SUM, slounik)

The Eros Farnese statue
Eros Farnese: love itself — the cousins call it otherwise. Photo: Chappsnet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

RBE: драгост (dictionary) →

Who heard the word

Four witnesses

From DEX to ESSJa and RJA: four dictionaries, each hearing one sense.

DEX: dragoste

“DRAGOSTE… I. Sentiment de afecțiune…; iubire, amor… – Din sl. dragostĭ.”

The explanatory dictionary, s.v. dragoste

The Romanian sheet: definition + Slavic ĭ. Love, in short.

DER: the three Slavics

“Sl. dragostŭ “minune”… cf. bg. dragostĭ “plăcere”, sb. dragost “conveniență”.”

Ciorănescu, DER, s.v. dragoste

The etymological drift: wonder → pleasure → convenience. Love is missing from the row.

ESSJa: the suffix verdict

“*dorgostь… Производное с суфф. -ostь от прилаг. *dorgъ…”

ESSJa, V, p. 76

Abstract from adjective, documented: joy, charm, dearness. No “amor”.

RJA: once amor

“DRAGOST aa) caritas, amor… ljubav (Marulić, Kašić…)…”

RJA, II

The only touch of love, in old literary Croatian. The nuance-witness.

Derksen, p. 113 (scan) →

Where we stand

What we know and what we reconstruct

Four drawers for the whole page: the thread, the stars, why it holds, and what stays open.

What we know

dragoste ← dragostь (direct loan, every dictionary) ← dragŭ “dear” + -ostь (ESSJa); the cousins keep joy, charm, price; Romanian attests from 1561, and Eng. love is on another table. Dor presupposes love + distance (DEX, no derivation).

What we reconstruct

*dorgostь, *dorgъ — starred, from ESSJa and Derksen; PIE: nothing — every source refuses, the page omits on purpose.

Why it holds

DEX + MDA2 + DER + Scriban + Șăineanu + CADE: the same loan; CCMH 0× (a southern donor, not OCS); RJA gives the nuance of the lost amor.

What stays open

“CORESI, EV. 33” vs 1561 — which is first?; COD. VOR. 190 — the text; Palia — suspected; “milostenia” — unattested.

Three stops

Three dates

The whole road on one rail: the old page, the hymn, the wrong verdict.

  1. Coresi

    1561

    The Tetraevangelion, Brașov: “dragostea lu Dumnezeu” (Lk 11:42) — love with a year on it, for the first time.

    stop at 1 of 3

  2. Biblia

    1688

    Bucharest, 1 Cor 13: “Dragostea mult îngăduiaște” — the hymn of love, in Romanian.

    stop at 2 of 3

  3. Glossariu

    1871

    Bucharest, p. 232: dragostea “a căzut în desuetudine” — the wrong verdict, with the stamp beside it.

    stop at 3 of 3

1570 the Missal · 1643 drăgăstos · 1673 drăgălaș · c. 1700 drăguț · 1929 Șăineanu.

The road of love

  1. dragŭ

    dear, in Slavic

  2. dragostь

    dearness

  3. dragoste

    love, at home

Where the thread tangles

Three question marks, no winner

The thread is solid — the datings are not. The page verdict: DISPUTED

1561 or “EV. 33”?

MDA2 says “At: CORESI, EV. 33”. The 1561 Tetraevangelion says “dragostea lu Dumnezeu” — earlier. Which edition is “EV.”? The page shows both datings, adjudicating neither.

OCS or South Slavic?

CCMH: dragostь 0× in five texts. Miklosich, p. 175: “драгость f. τιμιότης pretiositas” — with no manuscript siglum at all. ESSJa: no Slavic form. A verdict with the source beside it: a southern donor, not OCS proper.

And the PIE root?

Derksen: “Etymology unclear”. Vasmer: “вероятно”. Brückner: “Innych odpowiedników brak”. Trubachev: an expressive innovation. The page deliberately omits what the sources refuse.

No disputed link gets a single uncited truth on this page: the datings stand side by side, the donor stands south, the root stays out.

What is NOT disputed: the direct dragostь loan; the -ostь suffix on dragŭ; the years 1561–1688 — on these all sources agree.

CCMH: the texts (corpus) →

Test yourself

Which is older?

Six landmarks from the page, shuffled. Set them from the oldest to the newest.

Move each card to its place, 1 to 6. Keys 1–6 move the chosen card; cards also drag by finger.

  1. 1688

    Biblia: “Dragostea mult îngăduiaște”

    Place
  2. 1561

    Coresi: “dragostea lu Dumnezeu”

    Place
  3. 1871

    Glossariu: “fallen into desuetude”

    Place
  4. 1643

    Varlaam: drăgăstos

    Place
  5. 1673

    Dosoftei: drăgălaș

    Place
  6. 1570

    The Missal: the same press

    Place

Score: 0 of 6

The right order, oldest first:

  1. 1561 — Coresi: “dragostea lu Dumnezeu”
  2. 1570 — The Missal: the same press
  3. 1643 — Varlaam: drăgăstos
  4. 1673 — Dosoftei: drăgălaș
  5. 1688 — Biblia: “Dragostea mult îngăduiaște”
  6. 1871 — Glossariu: “fallen into desuetude”

The settled row: 1561 the Tetraevangelion, 1570 the Missal, 1643 drăgăstos, 1673 drăgălaș, 1688 the Bible, 1871 the Glossariu. “EV. 33” stands in the dispute, not in the game.

Sources

First the Slavic thread, then the Romanian years and the rivals; the neighbours last. Every risky claim points at its source.

The Slavic thread

The Romanian years

Love's rivals

Catalogue neighbours

Type: Fraunces and Source Serif 4, under the SIL Open Font Licence.