algo

Forms

algo^[1] The 11th-century forms are álico and áligo;^[1] argo is a modern rustic form in Chile, Murcia, Cuba and Santo Domingo.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin aliquod (“something”), the neuter of aliquis (“someone, anyone”).^[3][4][5][1] The Latin pronoun is formed from alius (“other”) and quis (“who, anyone”).^[6] The first form, álico (1055), still had the vowel between /l/ and /k/.^[3][2]

The DCECH notes that the word has disappeared from the other Romance languages except Portuguese algo and some Rhaeto-Romance dialects, though Old French and Old Occitan had Old French alques and Old Occitan alques, which may continue aliquid instead.^[3] The compound hidalgo comes from the Old Spanish phrase fijo de algo (“son of wealth”).^[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas finds alico in a document of 1055, and algo in the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) and the Auto de los Reyes Magos.^[3][4] In the Cid it is a neuter pronoun for an indefinite amount, small or rather large, as in Mandó mio Cid aún que les diessen algo “My Cid ordered that they should be given something more” (line 802); it also means “a thing of value” and, as an adverb, “quite, much”.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

From “something of value” Old Spanish made algo a noun for “wealth, property”, often in the plural algos, and for “favour, honour”: Alfonso X's prose speaks of poor men who seek stones out of greed de ganar algo “to make a fortune”.^[10][11] The Partidas explain fijos de algo as fijos de bien, and the Diccionario de Autoridades calls this sense very frequent in the laws.^[12] The Academy now marks it as obsolete, still used in Burgos, and García de Diego records the sense “riches” in Palencia and Burgos too.^[5][7]

The proverb más vale algo que no nada is in Villasandino (c. 1400) and in the Quijote.^[2][13] The adverbial sense “somewhat” is in Percyvall's dictionary of 1591, which renders the word as English “somwhat”.^[14] In Venezuela it is popular slang for money, and in Puerto Rico it means sustenance.^[15]

Timeline

• 1055 – the old form alico in a document.^[3][4]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses algo for an amount, for a thing of value and as an adverb.^[8]
• c. 1180 – Non sé si algo é veído in the Auto de los Reyes Magos.^[16]
• c. 1250 – Alfonso X uses algo for “wealth” and “honour”.^[10]
• 1256–1263 – the Partidas explain fijos de algo.^[2][12]
• 1513 – Nebrija glosses it with Latin aliquid and quicquam.^[17]
• 1591 – Percyvall gives the adverbial sense “somewhat”.^[14]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records the senses “something”, “wealth” and “a small amount”.^[12]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. something, anything: a thing that is not known or not named: ¿Quieres algo de beber?^[5][1]
2. A small, indefinite amount, often with de: Le queda algo de dinero.^[5]

Noun

1. (obsolete; still in Burgos) Wealth, property, also in the plural.^[5]

Adverb

1. somewhat, a little, not entirely: La sopa está algo salada.^[5][1]
2. With little intensity: Nevó algo por la mañana.^[5]
3. For a short time: Descansé algo después de comer.^[5]
4. (obsolete) Quite, a lot.^[5][8]

Word family

• hidalgo

Related words

• alguno
• alguien
• Latin aliquis
• Portuguese algo

Usage notes

Algo es algo expresses contentment with the little that one has or gets.^[5] The stress of alguien, once alguién, moved to the first syllable in the 17th century on the model of algo, as nadie beside nada.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. algo
3. ^ 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. 1, 163
4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. alguno
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. algo
6. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. algo
7. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. algo
8. ^ a b c Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. s.v. algo
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. 236
10. ^ a b 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. algo
11. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1929), Vocabulario medieval castellano, Madrid: Librería y Casa Editorial Hernando, p. s.v. algo
12. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 204
13. ^ 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, 336
14. ^ a b Percyvall, Richard (1591), Bibliothecae Hispanicae pars altera: containing a dictionarie in Spanish, English and Latine, London: John Jackson for Richard Watkins, p. s.v. algo
15. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. algo
16. ^ Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. algo
17. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 289