acostumbrar

Forms

acostumbrar (first-person singular present acostumbro, first-person singular preterite acostumbré, past participle acostumbrado)^[1] Old Spanish also wrote acostunbrar, and Leonese and Aragonese texts have acostumnar, acostumpnar and acostupnar;^[2] acustumar is found only in León about 1250.^[3] Acostunblar and acostubrado occur in manuscripts of the Libro de buen amor.^[3]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish a- + costumbre + -ar, “to bring into a custom”.^[2][4][5][6] The TDHLE instead takes it from an older verb costumbrar with the prefix a-;^[1] Corominas notes that this simple verb is still found in the Cancionero de Baena, a 15th-century songbook.^[3][4] He also records the participle costumnado in Berceo, a form of the same family.^[4][5]

The noun costumbre continues Latin cōnsuētūdō (“custom, habit”), from the verb cōnsuēscō (“to become accustomed”).^[4][1] Corominas notes that a verb of this kind is common to all the Romance languages that keep the noun.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first hit is the Moamín of 1250, in a copy of the second half of the 13th century, where hunting birds are bien acostumbradas “well trained”.^[7] The first hit without a later copy, and the TDHLE's first quotation, is the Concilio de León of about 1250: aquellos que acostumbraron yr en fosado “those who were accustomed to go on campaign”.^[7][3] Corominas dates the verb from Juan Ruiz (1330), whose metre confirms the form acostumbrar.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

From the earliest texts the verb had both its transitive sense, “to make someone used to something”, and the sense “to be in the habit of”, often with an infinitive.^[8][3][9] Juan de Valdés preferred it to soler.^[3] The Autoridades explains it as made of a and costumbre, and gives the reflexive acostumbrarse “to get used to”.^[6] Cuervo's dictionary documents its constructions with an infinitive from the classical authors to the 19th century.^[10] Today the DLE allows acostumbrar with or without a before an infinitive.^[11]

Timeline

• 1250 – the Moamín uses acostumbradas of trained hunting birds (in a later 13th-century copy).^[7]
• c. 1250 – the Concilio de León has acostumbraron yr.^[7][3]
• 1330 – Juan Ruiz, Corominas's first record.^[5][4]
• 1499 – the Celestina has acostumbré tener.^[3]
• 1525 – first record in the Americas, in Mexico City.^[12]
• 1570 – first record of desacostumbrado.^[5]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary defines the transitive and intransitive uses.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To accustom someone to something: Acostumbraron al perro a dormir fuera.^[11][1]
2. To be in the habit of doing something, with or without a before the infinitive: Acostumbra cenar muy tarde.^[11][1][14]
3. (reflexive, acostumbrarse) To get used to something: No me acostumbro a este clima.^[11][1]

Word family

• desacostumbrar
• acostumbrado

Related words

• costumbre
• consuetudinario
• Latin cōnsuētūdō

Usage notes

Moliner gives soler as a synonym of the second sense and habituar of the first.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. acostumbrar
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. acostumbrar
4. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 224
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. costumbre
6. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 66
7. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. acostumbrar
8. ^ Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. acostumbrar
9. ^ Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 118
10. ^ Cuervo, Rufino José (1886–1893), Diccionario de construcción y régimen de la lengua castellana, vols. I–II (A–D), París: A. Roger y F. Chernoviz, p. 1, 153
11. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. acostumbrar
12. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. acostumbrar
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 16
14. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. acostumbrar