ambiguo

Forms

ambiguo (feminine ambigua, masculine plural ambiguos, feminine plural ambiguas)^[1] A form ambigo occurs in the 16th and 17th centuries (Balbuena rhymes it with amigo) and survives as a popular form in Chile.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ambiguus (“undecided, doubtful; of double meaning”).^[4][5][6][1] The Latin adjective is formed on ambigō (“to be in dispute, to waver”) with the suffix -uus, and the verb on ambi- (“around, on both sides”) and agō (“to drive, lead”).^[7][1][4] Bénaben and the DHLF explain the sense as “driving from one side to the other”, hence “to hesitate”;^[8][9][10] Gómez de Silva glosses the adjective literally as “wandering”.^[8][9][10] De Vaan lists the compound verb, glossed “to dispute”, and the adjective among the derivatives of the simple verb, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”).^[11]

The same Latin word was borrowed as Portuguese ambíguo, Catalan ambigu, French ambigu and Italian ambiguo.^[12][13][1] The French adjective, used as a noun for a cold collation served all at once, was taken back into Spanish as ambigú.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TDHLE's first quotation, from a document of 1539 printed in the Colección de documentos inéditos of America and Oceania, uses the word of people who do not know where to turn: the natives andan ambiguos, no sabiendo a quién ocurrir “go about undecided, not knowing to whom to turn” when they need justice.^[2] The DCECH and the BDELC date it from Las Casas, about 1560; the noun ambigüedad is older, in Palencia's vocabulary of 1490.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the adjective meant “undecided, irresolute” of people and “doubtful in outcome” of events, and also “equivocal, open to two readings” of answers and words, as of the oracles in the Crotalón (c. 1553).^[2] The Diccionario de Autoridades (1726) defined it as a doubtful and confused thing that can be applied in different senses, and added the grammatical género ambiguo; the 1770 edition explained it with el puente and la puente, el mar and la mar.^[14][15] In 1884 the Academy gave the definition still used, “that can be understood in several ways and so cause doubt”, said especially of language.^[16]

From the end of the 19th century the word was also used of sexual ambiguity: Rubén Darío wrote of himself con Verlaine ambiguo in 1905.^[2] Moliner records the colloquial sense “somewhat effeminate”.^[17] Gaspar y Roig (1853–1855) give technical uses in botany and mineralogy.^[18]

Timeline

• 1539 – first record of the adjective, in a document from the Americas.^[2]
• c. 1553 – the Crotalón speaks of respuestas ambiguas.^[2]
• c. 1560 – Las Casas uses it, the DCECH's first record.^[4][5]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it and the grammatical género ambiguo.^[14]
• 1770 – first record of the French loan ambigú in the BDELC; the DCECH has it from Ramón de la Cruz (1786–1791).^[5][4]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology and the modern definition.^[16]
• 1905 – Rubén Darío uses it of sexual ambiguity.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Especially of language: that can be understood in several ways and so cause doubt or confusion; ambiguous, equivocal: Le dio una contestación ambigua.^[6][1][17]
2. Of a person: who does not make his attitudes or opinions clear in what he says or does.^[6]
3. Uncertain, doubtful.^[6]
4. (grammar) Of a noun: used as both masculine and feminine, as el mar and la mar.^[1][17][15]
5. Equivocal in sexual appearance or behaviour;^[17][2] (colloquial) somewhat effeminate.^[17][2]

Word family

• ambigüedad
• ambiguamente

Related words

• ambigú
• Latin ambiguus
• Portuguese ambíguo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ambiguo
3. ^ 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. ambigo
4. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 238
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. ambiguo
6. ^ 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. ambiguo
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. ambiguus
8. ^ a b Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. ambiguo
9. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. ambigu
10. ^ 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. ambiguo
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. 222
13. ^ 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. 1, 274
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 265
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 219
16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 65
17. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. ambiguo
18. ^ Gaspar y Roig (eds.) (1853–1855), Biblioteca ilustrada de Gaspar y Roig: Diccionario enciclopédico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Imprenta y Librería de Gaspar y Roig, p. 1, 134