senya

Forms

senya f (plural senyes)^[1] The DCVB records the pronunciations [sέɲə], [séɲa] and [sə́ɲə].^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin signa (“signs”), the plural of signum (“mark, sign”).^{[3][2][4][5][1]} Wiktionary calls it the inherited doublet of the learned signe.^[1]

The same Latin word gave Spanish seña, Portuguese senha, Italian segno and Old Occitan senh.^[6] The Spanish word also comes from the plural.^[7]

The Latin noun continues *sekno- (“statue, sign”), from *sek(h₂)-no- (“cut”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Llull's Llibre de contemplació of 1272 whoever seeks God entrarà en noves de vós e en senya de vós, will come upon news and traces of Him.^[9][10] The NGGL glosses the word in Llull as an indication, that which serves to identify.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Coromines dates the first record to the early 14th century and finds the word in the Consolat de mar for the fishermen's senyes, the landmarks on the coast by which they fix a point at sea;^[3] Ausiàs March uses the image of a ship that holds its course per senya.^[3] No dictionary had recorded this nautical sense, which Coromines heard along all the Catalan coasts, from the Barcarès to the three Balearic islands.^[3]

Muntaner says that in 1283 the people of Jaca and Saragossa could not entrar en senya of where the king was.^[3] Faraudo glosses the same phrase as “to begin a fight”, and gives the word the senses of insignia or banner and of sign or mark, as in the Tirant.^[9] Jaume March's rhyming dictionary of 1371 records it.^[3]

The 19th-century dictionaries define a sign by which something is known, a signal agreed between people, and the military password given with the sant.^[11] Fabra's dictionary of 1932 has only the modern sense, a feature by which a person or thing can be recognised.^[12] The DCVB adds a gesture and, in the plural, a person's address.^[2]

Timeline

• 1272 – en senya de vós in Llull's Llibre de contemplació.^[9]
• early 14th century – the fishermen's senyes in the Consolat de mar.^[3]
• 1325 – Muntaner's chronicle has entrar en senya.^[9]
• 1327–1335 – first record in CICA, in the documents of the chancery of Alfons III.^[13]
• 1371 – Jaume March's rhyming dictionary lists the word.^[3]
• 1460 – the Tirant lo Blanc: senya de perfecció de bé.^[9]
• 1839 – Labèrnia defines the military password sense.^[11]
• 1932 – Fabra's definition as an identifying feature.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A feature or trait by which a person or thing can be recognised: Doneu-me alguna senya del cotxe que buscàveu.^[14][5][15]
2. sant i senya: the password, watchword.^[14][5]
3. A gesture or sign made to express something.^[2][1]
4. (in the plural) A person's address.^[2][1]
5. (nautical, in the plural) The landmarks on the coast by which fishermen fix a point at sea.^[3]
6. (archaic) An insignia, banner.^[2][9]

Word family

• senyera
• contrasenya
• entresenya

Related words

• seny
• senyal
• signe
• ensenyar
• Latin signum
• Spanish seña

Usage notes

The DCVB also has senya as a form of sènia “noria”.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. senya
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 838
5. ^ a b c Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. senya
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7908
7. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 209
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e f Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. senya
10. ^ a b Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. senya
11. ^ a b Labèrnia, Pere (1839–1840), Diccionari de la llengua catalana ab la correspondencia castellana y llatina, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. senya
12. ^ a b Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. senya
13. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. senya
14. ^ a b 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. senya
15. ^ Institut d'Estudis Catalans, Diccionari essencial de la llengua catalana (DEIEC), online, https://deiec.iec.cat, p. s.v. senya
16. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. senya 2