afluente

Forms

afluente m or f (masculine and feminine plural afluentes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin affluēns (“flowing; abounding”), the present participle of affluō (“to flow towards; to abound”).^[2][1][3] The DLE also treats it as the old present participle of afluir, with the ending -nte.^[2][4] Corominas lists it among the learned derivatives of fluir, with a first record of 1772.^[5][6]

The Latin verb is a compound of ad- (“to”) and fluō (“to flow”).^[7][1] Wiktionary traces the simple verb to Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- (“to overflow”).^[1]

Barcia compares Catalan afluent, French affluent and Italian affluente.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is in the Libro del cavallero Cifar (1300–1305), known from a copy of the late 15th century, where afluente doctrina is abundant teaching that a man can share with his neighbour.^[9] The TDHLE's first dated quotations, from 1590 and 1604, use the superlative afluentíssima of divine mercy and kindness, and in 1616 Valdivielso writes of limosnas afluentes “abundant alms”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th and 18th centuries the adjective meant “abundant, copious”, often of eloquence or style: a 1648 critic speaks of the afluente estruendo of a style like the river Duero.^[9][10] The Academy's first dictionary (1726) applied it to a river or spring running with abundance, a mind full of ideas and an orator rich in words.^[11] From 1770 to 1791 the Academy gave “copious, abundant” and noted that the word was then used only of speakers who abound in words; that sense was kept alone until 1843.^[10][12][13] Cuervo quotes Moratín's afluente versificador and afluente vena.^[14]

The noun “tributary” is a newer use: the CDH has it in the Philippines about 1754, and the Academy first defined it in 1869 as a stream or secondary river that flows into a main one.^[9][15] In the Americas, Boyd-Bowman records un estilo afluente in Lima in 1791 and the sense “tributary” in Chile in 1862.^[16] In the Spanish of the United States afluente also means “rich, wealthy”, taken from the English word affluent.^[17]

Timeline

• 1300–1305 – afluente doctrina in the Libro del cavallero Cifar, in a copy of the late 15th century.^[9]
• 1590 – the superlative afluentíssima in Juan de los Ángeles.^[10]
• 1616 – Valdivielso writes of limosnas afluentes.^[10]
• 1726 – Autoridades applies it to a river, a mind or an orator rich in words.^[11]
• c. 1754 – otro afluente, a tributary, in Juan José Delgado's history of the Philippines.^[9]
• 1772 – the first record in Corominas, in Bails.^[5][6]
• 1791 – first record from the Americas, in Lima.^[16]
• 1869 – the Academy first defines the noun “tributary”.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Flowing in, that flows into something (afluir): el agua afluente del valle.^[2][18]
2. Fluent, eloquent (facundo): abundant in words or expressions.^[2][18]
3. (United States) affluent, rich.^[17][1]

Noun

1. A tributary: a stream or secondary river that flows into a main one: El Jarama es afluente del Tajo.^[2][18][1]

Word family

• afluentemente

Related words

• afluencia
• afluir
• confluente
• fluir
• Latin affluēns

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. afluente
3. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. afluente
4. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. afluente
5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 921
6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. fluir
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Barcia, Roque (1880–1883), Primer diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Álvarez Hermanos, p. 156
9. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. afluente
10. ^ a b c d e 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. afluente
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 109
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 1, 89
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 17
14. ^ 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, 245
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 18
16. ^ a b 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. afluente
17. ^ a b Moreno-Fernández, Francisco (2018), Diccionario de anglicismos del español estadounidense (Informes del Observatorio 037-01/2018SP), Cambridge, Mass.: Instituto Cervantes at Harvard University, p. 37
18. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. afluente