![Corominas-all-v4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Corominas-all-v4.jpg)
The ''Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana'' is a four-volume
etymological dictionary
An etymological dictionary discusses the etymology of the words listed. Often, large dictionaries, such as the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and ''Webster's'', will contain some etymological information, without aspiring to focus on etymology.
E ...
of Spanish compiled by the Catalan
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
Joan Corominas
Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (; also frequently spelled ''Joan Corominas''; Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, by Joan Corominas icand José Antonio Pascual, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, . Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 1 ...
(1905-1997), and first published by Francke Verlag in
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, Switzerland, in 1954.
Its publication was followed in 1961 by that of a single-volume abridged version (''
Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana
The ''Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana'' (in English, ''Brief etymological dictionary of the Spanish language'') is an etymological dictionary compiled by the Catalan philologist Joan Corominas (1905–1997), and first publi ...
''), and in the 1980s by a six-volume revised and expanded version (retitled ''
Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico'').
This dictionary was praised for its ambitious approach, its exhaustive coverage of the material, its meticulous documentation, and its unprecedented candor about the unknown. As
Josep Pla
Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, England, Germany and Russia, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles in Catalan a ...
said: "... I have the feeling that is one of the hardest works in the country, done with a safe, rhythmic and continuous effort.. The Critical & etymological Dictionary is what it has been left behind a lonely, restless lifetime of effort...".
Orientation of the dictionary
The ''Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana'' is directed to the specialist. Many of its entries are true scientific articles, including proposals both from the author and from third parties (referencing all of them),
with the testimony of other languages, both neighbouring and geographically more distant (
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
,
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
,
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
,
High German
The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...
,
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
,
Nordic,
Taino,
Nahuatl
Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...
, etc.),
weighing and dispensing formulas with some opinions from conclusive studies, and finally giving a diagnosis.
The ''Corominas,'' as it is known informally, is characterized by a great intellectual honesty and respect for the viewpoints of others. Where an etymological conclusion can be stated with certainty, the author presents it in clear terms and with supporting arguments. The dictionary copes with a uniquely large body of data, and competing arguments are fully documented. Sample pages can be seen online.
Content
This work has been called simply "the best etymological dictionary of Spanish." Throughout almost five thousand pages, Corominas establishes the origin and development of Castilian vocabulary, both archaic and modern, Peninsular and Latin American,
often referencing other Iberian and Romance languages.
This project was begun in parallel with the author's other magnum opus, the ''
Diccionari Etimològic i Complementari de la Llengua Catalana,'' an etymological dictionary of Catalan. Its lexical data base includes all the languages and dialects of the Iberian Peninsula (as well as others from beyond), including
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
,
Galician,
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
,
Leonese,
Judaeo-Spanish
Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew script: , Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: ), also known as Ladino, is a Romance languages, Romance language derived from Old Spanish language, Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain ...
,
Mozarabic
Mozarabic, also called Andalusi Romance, refers to the medieval Romance varieties spoken in the Iberian Peninsula in territories controlled by the Islamic Emirate of Córdoba and its successors. They were the common tongue for the majority of ...
,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, and
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
/Provençal.
An essential aspect of the dictionary is its critical character. The author supports his etymological judgments and dates of first documentation by citing earlier dictionaries and historical texts, showing in detail why he accepts or rejects previous scholarship.
The Seminari de Filologia i Informàtica at the
Autonomous University of Barcelona
The Autonomous University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; , es, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona; UAB), is a public university mostly located in Cerdanyola del Vallès, near the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain.
...
began a project in 1992 to put the dictionary in digital form.
[Seminari de Filologia i Informàtica]
"Informatización del Diccionario Crítico Etimológico Castellano e Hispánico de J. Corominas y J. A. Pascual".
/ref>
See also
* Joan Corominas
Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (; also frequently spelled ''Joan Corominas''; Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, by Joan Corominas icand José Antonio Pascual, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, . Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain 1 ...
* Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico
* Brief etymological dictionary of the Spanish language
* Diccionari Etimològic i Complementari de la Llengua Catalana
References
Bibliography
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External links
The Corominas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana
Spanish dictionaries
Etymological dictionaries