amigable

Forms

amigable m or f (masculine and feminine plural amigables)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin amīcābilis (“friendly”).^[2][1][3] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of amigo without giving it a Latin source, and dates it from Juan Manuel, about 1330.^[4][5]

The same Latin adjective is Galician amigábel, Portuguese amigável, Catalan amigable, Old Occitan amigable and French amiable; Italian amichevole has another suffix.^[6][7][1] Nascentes takes the Portuguese word to be semi-learned.^[8]

amīcābilis is a rare, post-classical word, formed from amīcus (“friend”) with the suffix -ābilis.^[9][1] Wiktionary derives the noun for “friend” from amō (“to love”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in the CDH and the TDHLE is the Vidal Mayor (c. 1250), in the phrase attempramiento de fuero amigable et benigno “a friendly and kindly tempering of the law”.^[10][11] Corominas's first record is in Juan Manuel, about 1330.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century the adjective described friendly people (the nobles son amigables & corteses in the Castigos of 1293) and friendly acts.^[10][12] From 1308 it appears in the legal phrase amigables componedores, arbiters chosen by both parties to settle a dispute out of court.^[10][12] The Diccionario de Autoridades recorded amigable composición, and its 1770 edition added a figurative sense, “in agreement with something”, with a medical example: blood is amigable to the flesh.^[13][14] Cuervo described its use for people and things in the 19th century.^[15] Today it is also used of software that is easy to use.^[16]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – fuero amigable et benigno in the Vidal Mayor.^[10][11]
• 1293 – the Castigos call the nobles amigables & corteses.^[10][12]
• 1308 – amigables componedores in a deed of arbitration.^[10]
• c. 1330 – Juan Manuel, Corominas's first record.^[5][4]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin amicus and amicabilis.^[17]
• 1515 – first record from the Americas, amigables palabras in Tierra Firme.^[18]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records amigable composición.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a person: friendly, affable, inclined to friendship.^[2][1]
2. Of a thing: amicable, befitting friends: Llegaron a un acuerdo amigable.^[2][19]
3. In agreement or harmony with something.^[2][14]
4. Of software or a device: user-friendly.^[16]

Word family

• amigabilidad
• amigablemente

Related words

• amigo
• amistoso
• amable
• Latin amīcābilis

Usage notes

Amigable componedor is a legal term for an arbitrator who settles a dispute by fairness rather than by strict law.^[2][10]

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. amigable
3. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 494
4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 245
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. amigo
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. amicabilis
7. ^ Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. 229
8. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. amigável
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. amīcābilis
10. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. amigable
11. ^ a b 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. amigable
12. ^ a b c 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. 288
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 269
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 1, 223
15. ^ 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, 424
16. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. amigable
17. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 292
18. ^ 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. amigable
19. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. amigable