AN IMAGINARY TAX TERM:

DINŢĂRITUL

Abstract

The term DINŢĂRIT is present in most Romanian dictionaries and is generally explained as a tax paid by the host to those fed by him for having used their teeth while eating; it appears to be a fictitious name for a certain tax. The first and only reliable examples can be found in the writings of Ion Creangă and dinţărit (derived from the noun dinţi ’teeth’) represents an analogical jesting creation, with
the suffix ărit-, characteristic for the Romanian names of taxes in the previous epochs. Other denominations of the same type are (fumărit from the noun fum ’smoke’), văcărit (from the noun vacă ’cow’), a tax that used to be paid in the epoch
for the cattle etc.