demanar

Forms

demanar (first-person singular present demano, first-person singular preterite demaní, past participle demanat)^[1] The DCVB records the pronunciations [dəməná], [demaná], [demanáɾ] and [damaná].^[2] In the early documents the verb is still written with -nd-, as in demandaré “I will ask” in a charter from Areny of 1029–1047; some 13th-century scribes still hesitate between demanar and demandar.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin demandō (“to entrust, commit; to demand”).^[3][2][4][1] Bruguera treats it in the article on manar, of the same Latin family.^[5]

The same Latin verb is French demander, Italian domandare, Spanish demandar and Portuguese demandar.^[6][7] Meyer-Lübke notes that the Romance sense is “to ask” everywhere except in Romanian.^[6] In Medieval Latin the verb meant to order, to exact a tribute or service, to lay claim to a thing, and to send for someone.^[8]

The cluster /nd/ was assimilated to a long /nn/, which was later simplified to /n/;^[3] Coromines notes that in the 11th century the double consonant had not yet been fully reduced, which explains the hesitant spellings of the first texts.^[3] He contrasts the verb with the nouns demanda and comanda, which have always kept /nd/ although they are basic words of the language with no sign of learned or foreign influence; the verb comanar lost it in the same way.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coromines's first record is a charter from Areny, on the Ribagorçana, dated between 1029 and 1047, in which a party says that he will not claim (demandaré) anything further.^[3] He adds that documents of the same period already use Latin interrogare for “to ask for, to pray”, a hypercorrection he explains by demanar being in everyday use in the sense of “to ask (a question)”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Throughout the Middle Ages Catalan used demanar alone for “to ask, to question”, as Italian, Occitan and French did with their forms of the verb; it was built with a personal object (“lo demanaven del comte”, they asked him about the count) or intransitively.^[3] Old constructions such as demanar algú de consell, to ask someone for advice, are found in Llull and in a chancery letter of 1302, and survive in Eivissa.^[3] Llull uses the verb for asking for mercy, help and pardon.^[9] The medieval texts also give it the senses “to require, exact” and, in Jaume Conesa's Històries troianes, “to make for (a place)”, of a ship heading for the depths.^[10]

The dictionaries of the 19th century add the commercial sense “to ask a price for goods” and the legal one “to bring a claim before a judge”.^[11][2] Martí Gadea marks “to ask (a question)” as old in Valencian, and also records “to ask for a woman's hand”.^[12]

Timeline

• 1029–1047 – demandaré in a charter from Areny, on the Ribagorçana.^[3]
• 13th century, first half – the first works in CICA that use the verb include the Usatges de Barcelona.^[13]
• 13th century – Llull and Jaume I's chronicle use demanar for asking questions and asking for things.^[3][9]
• 1381 – Eiximenis's Cercapou and Bernat Metge's Lo somni use it for “to question, inquire”.^[10]
• 1440 – Curial e Güelfa has a man going round the tables begging alms (demanant almoyna).^[10]
• 1839 – Labèrnia's dictionary gives the senses “to ask for”, “to beg alms”, “to ask (a question)” and “to sue”.^[11]
• 1932 – Fabra's dictionary defines it as telling someone that one wishes to obtain something from him.^[14]

Meanings

Verb

1. To ask for or request: to tell someone that one wishes to get something from them.^[15][4][1]
2. To ask for someone to come; to send for or ask to see a person.^[4][2]
3. To ask (a question); to inquire about someone or something.^[2][1]
4. To require or need: of a thing, to call for something.^[2][1]
5. To ask a price for goods.^[16][17]
6. (reflexive) To wonder.^[1]

Related words

• comandar
• demanda
• manar
• comanda
• comanar
• Latin demandō
• Spanish demandar
• French demander

Usage notes

Medieval Catalan had no other verb than demanar for “to ask (a question)”.^[3] In modern Catalan it is used both for asking for something and for asking a question, beside preguntar.^[2][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. demanar
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 5, 407
4. ^ a b c Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. demanar
5. ^ Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 567
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2547
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. demandare
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. demandare
9. ^ a b Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. demanar
10. ^ a b c Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. demanar
11. ^ a b Labèrnia, Pere (1839–1840), Diccionari de la llengua catalana ab la correspondencia castellana y llatina, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. demanar
12. ^ Martí Gadea, Joaquim (1891), Novísimo diccionario general valenciano-castellano, Valencia, p. s.v. demanar
13. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. demanar
14. ^ Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. demanar
15. ^ Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. demanar
16. ^ Vallès, Emili (1927), Pal·las: diccionari català il·lustrat, Barcelona: Salvat, p. s.v. demanar
17. ^ Ferrer Pastor, Francesc (1985), Diccionari general, València, p. s.v. demanar