ensenyar

Forms

ensenyar (first-person singular present ensenyo, first-person singular preterite ensenyí, past participle ensenyat); root stress: (Northern) /e̞/, (Balearic) /ə/, (Central) /ɛ/, (Northwestern, Valencia) /e/^[1] The DCVB records /ənsəɲá/ in the eastern dialects, /anseɲá/ in the north-west and /enseɲáɾ/ in Valencia, where the final /r/ of the infinitive is pronounced.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin īnsignō (“to mark, designate”), from Latin in- and signō (“to mark”), from signum (“sign, mark”).^[3][2][1][4]

Coromines finds the Latin verb in the old glossaries with the senses "to mark" and "to designate"; in the spoken language it took the place of classical īnsigniō, and it lives on in all the Romance languages.^[3] The same Latin word is Old Occitan ensenhar, French enseigner, Italian insegnare, Spanish enseñar, Portuguese ensinar and Romanian însemna (“to mean”).^[4][1] The DHLF also derives the French verb from a popular Latin alteration of that classical verb, itself from the adjective īnsignis.^[5]

Catalan, Occitan, Spanish and Portuguese kept the sense "to show"; in French and Italian the verb now means only "to teach".^[3] The sense "to teach" grew out of "to show", and in it the verb replaced Latin doceō.^[3] The simple verb is senyar, "to make the sign of the cross".^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DCVB and the GDLC date the first record to 1250, and Coromines to the middle of the 13th century.^[2][7][3] In the earliest texts the verb already has both its senses: Llull writes of a hermit who showed the women the road (lus ensenyà la carrera), and of books and proverbs that teach the virtues and vices.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was "to point out, show", which led to "to teach, instruct": Coromines quotes a medieval story in which a cardinal asks whether the king has his sons taught letters, and is told that they are only taught to ride and bear arms.^[3] Llull uses both senses side by side.^[8]

The verb also meant "to let something be seen", as of teeth in a smile, a use Coromines finds in medieval verse and in the Questa de Reixac.^[3] The participle ensenyat meant "trained, tamed" of animals, and malensenyat "ill-bred" was already used by Llull.^[3] The Valencian dictionaries of Escrig (1851) and Martí Gadea (1891) also record a reflexive use, "to get used to something".^[9][10]

The derivative ensenyament is recorded in the 14th century;^[3] ensenyança is in the Catalan Nebrija of 1507 and survives in a Barcelona street name, the Pas de l'Ensenyança.^[3] Fabra's dictionary gives the teaching sense first and the showing sense second, the order the DIEC2 keeps.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 1250 – first record, according to the DCVB and the GDLC.^[2][7]
• 1261–1271 – ensenyar in the Furs de València, the first work in which CICA finds the infinitive.^[13]
• 13th century – Ramon Llull uses the verb for showing the way and for teaching virtues.^[8]
• 1803–1805 – Esteve, Bellvitges and Juglà's dictionary gives the senses "to instruct", "to show" and "to point out".^[14]
• 1932 – Fabra's Diccionari general defines it first as "to teach".^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To teach a subject, skill or art to someone by lessons, explanations or practice: Ensenya història en un institut.^[12][7][1]
2. To instruct or educate someone.^[12][2]
3. To show or point out: Ens va ensenyar el camí del poble.^[12][1]
4. To show something on purpose, or to let it be seen without meaning to.^[12][7]
5. (figurative) To make someone aware of something, such as a mistake.^[12][7]
6. (Valencia) ensenyar-se: to get used to something.^[9][10]

Word family

• ensenyament
• ensenyança
• ensenyable
• malensenyat
• desensenyar

Related words

• seny
• senyar
• senya
• Latin signum
• Spanish enseñar
• Occitan ensenhar

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. ensenyar
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. 7, 809
4. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4462
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. signare
7. ^ a b c d e Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. ensenyar
8. ^ a b c Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. ensenyar
9. ^ a b Escrig, José (1851), Diccionario valenciano-castellano, Valencia, p. s.v. ensenyar
10. ^ a b Martí Gadea, Joaquim (1891), Novísimo diccionario general valenciano-castellano, Valencia, p. s.v. ensenyar
11. ^ a b Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. ensenyar
12. ^ a b c d e f 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. ensenyar
13. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. ensenyar
14. ^ Esteve, Joaquim; Bellvitges, Josep; Juglà, Antoni (1803–1805), Diccionario catalán-castellano-latino, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. ensenyar