anchoa

Forms

anchoa f (plural anchoas)^[1] Until the 18th century the usual form was anchova, which the DLE still lists.^[2][3] Other old forms are anchoba, anyoba and anchoga.^[4]

Etymology

Corominas derives it borrowed from Catalan anxova, and the Catalan word from Ligurian ancióa, the Genoese form.^[2][5][6] That goes back to Vulgar Latin *apiuva (Corominas writes *apjúa), from Latin aphyē (“small fry”), a borrowing of Ancient Greek ἀφύη (aphúē, “small fry”).^[1][2][7] The DLE takes it only perhaps from Catalan.^[6] Wiktionary takes it directly from Ligurian.^[6][1] Vulgar Latin imitated Greek ⟨υ⟩, a sound foreign to Latin, with ⟨ui⟩ or ⟨iu⟩.^[2] The gloss spelling ⟨apyia⟩ seems to reflect such a form.^[2][8]

The Romance forms, Italian acciuga, Sicilian anciova, Occitan anchoio, French anchois, Portuguese anchova and the Catalan form, cannot be explained by each language's own sound laws.^[2][8] Corominas therefore looks for a single centre that spread the word.^[2] The change of /pj/ to /tʃ/ is regular only in Sicily, Genoa and Provence;^[8] Sicily is ruled out by its vowel, and the Genoese form is attested, so he makes Genoa the starting point.^[2] The REW considers the history of the word unexplained.^[8] Pliny explained the fish as born of rain, and Skok supposed a folk-etymological *appluvia.^[2][7] Corominas rejects this, partly because it would give Castilian or Portuguese as the centre.^[2][7]

A Basque origin, from Basque antxu, has been proposed (Gómez de Silva and Etymonline cite it). Corominas calls the Basque word a secondary form, and the REW says the Basque adjective means “giving no milk”.^{[9][10][2][8]} For the Greek word Beekes reports a derivation from the negative prefix ἀ- (a-) and φύω (phúō, “to grow”), “without growth”, which looks like folk etymology but has been defended by Meier-Brügger.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first example in the CDH is in the Ordenamiento portuario de Sevilla of 1302, a port tariff that taxes anyone who de leuante troxere anchoas en jarras o en barriles “brought anchovies from the Levant in jars or barrels”.^[12] The DCECH's first record is anchova in Nebrija (c. 1495), Anchoua, pececico “anchovy, a little fish”, glossed with Latin halecula.^[2][4][5] A Málaga deed of 1493 already mentions sites for making anchovas.^[13]

Semantic evolution

The fish was known in Castile mainly salted and in barrels, as an import.^[14][15] Covarrubias (1611) describes it as a little sea fish like a sardine brought to Spain in barrels and put in salads.^[14] The Autoridades (1726) says that it was shipped salted from Italy, especially Genoa, all over Europe, and calls it an Italian word.^[15] Fernández de Oviedo (1535–1557) used anchova for a fish of the Indies.^[4] The modern form anchoa is in Sarmiento in 1757, in Ramón de la Cruz in 1765, and in the Academy's dictionary from 1770;^[12][16] Corominas had dated it from González del Castillo (died 1800).^[12][16][2] From 1817 the Academy defined it as the salted boquerón.^[17]

In parts of northern Spain anchoa is the fresh fish itself.^[6] In Mexico and Guatemala it is a lock of hair rolled up to curl it, and in the Dominican Republic a hair roller.^[18][19] The English word anchovy was taken from anchova in the 1590s.^[10]

Timeline

• 1302 – the port tariff of Seville taxes anchoas brought in jars or barrels.^[12]
• 1493 – a Málaga deed mentions sites for making anchovas.^[13]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija records anchoua, the DCECH's first record.^[2][4]
• 1535–1557 – Fernández de Oviedo uses anchova for a fish of the Indies.^[4][13]
• 1590s – English borrows anchovy from Portuguese.^[10]
• 1611 – Covarrubias describes anchova as a fish brought in barrels for salads.^[14]
• 1726 – the Autoridades calls anchova an Italian word.^[15]
• 1770 – the Academy's dictionary enters the form anchoa.^[16]
• 1884 – the Academy proposes, with a question mark, Latin aphya or apua and Greek as the source.^[20]

Meanings

Noun

1. An anchovy cured in brine with part of its blood: una lata de anchoas en aceite.^[6][1]
2. (northern Spain) The fresh anchovy, the boquerón.^[6][21]
3. (Mexico, Guatemala, rare) A lock of hair rolled in a spiral to curl (rizar) it.^[18]
4. (Dominican Republic) A hair roller.^[19]

Related words

• anchova
• anjova
• boquerón
• Catalan anxova

Usage notes

The DLE labels the sense “fresh anchovy” for Aragon, Burgos, Navarre, the Basque Country, La Rioja and Segovia; elsewhere the fresh fish is the boquerón.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 254
3. ^ 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. anchova
4. ^ 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. anchoa
5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. anchoa
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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. anchoa
7. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 64
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ 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. anchoa
13. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. anchova
14. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 174
15. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 282
16. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 1, 236
17. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 63
18. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. anchoa
19. ^ a b Academia Dominicana de la Lengua; Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (2024), Diccionario del español dominicano, 2nd ed., online at https://ded.igalex.org, p. s.v. anchoa
20. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 71
21. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. anchoa