punyent

Forms

punyent m or f (masculine and feminine plural punyents)^[1] Llull writes the plural punyens beside punyents.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pungēns (“pricking, piercing”), the present participle of pungō (“to prick”).^[3][4][2][1] In Catalan it is also the present participle of punyir, under which Bruguera lists it.^[5][6] Coromines notes that the verb is now archaic, used above all in its participles, of which this one is by far the commonest.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Llull uses it of nails and thorns: Christ was crowned with espines punyents that pierced his head, and in the Arbre de ciència hot and dry plants have sharp thorns.^[2] The first sense is physical: “sharp, pricking”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Jaume Roig, in 1460, still uses it in the proper sense of spines that prick.^[7][6] Coromines notes that the modern language uses it mostly in the figurative sense; the verse of Martí Garcia already speaks of a dolor tan punyent.^[6][7] Labèrnia's dictionary of 1839 gives it as a synonym of punxant, and Pal·las in 1927 defines it as what pricks or causes pain.^[6][8][9] The DIEC2 adds the sense of moving, poignant words or scenes.^[10]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – Llull writes of nails and thorns punyents.^[2]
• 1350 – the first occurrence in the CICA corpus, in the Catalan Canon of Avicenna.^[11]
• 1460 – Jaume Roig's Spill has spines pus fort punyent.^[7]
• 1839 – Labèrnia's dictionary.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. sharp, piercing; causing a sharp, penetrating sensation: un vent punyent de febrer.^[10][4][1]
2. poignant, moving: unes paraules punyents de comiat.^[10][4][1]

Related words

• punyir
• punxant
• Latin pungō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. punyent
3. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. punyent
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. punyent
5. ^ Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 762
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. 6, 863
7. ^ a b c Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. punyent
8. ^ a b Labèrnia, Pere (1839–1840), Diccionari de la llengua catalana ab la correspondencia castellana y llatina, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. punyent
9. ^ Vallès, Emili (1927), Pal·las: diccionari català il·lustrat, Barcelona: Salvat, p. s.v. punyent
10. ^ a b c 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. punyent
11. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. punyent