ante

ante¹ elk; buff leather

Pronunciation

• /ˈante/, [ˈãn̪.t̪e]^[1]

Forms

ante m (plural antes, feminine anta, feminine plural antas)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the elk and its leather is borrowed from Andalusian Arabic لمط (lámṭ), perhaps of Berber origin.^[2][3][4] Corriente traces the Andalusian Arabic word to a North African form probably borrowed from Berber, and explains that Romance took its first consonant for the Arabic article.^[5] Corominas notes that the noun and an adjective derived from it occur in several medieval authors, already in Abencuzmán in the 12th century.^[3] Schuchardt held that the Spanish form was the original one and the Arabic word grew from it by partial agglutination of the article, but Corominas objects that the Arabic form is the one recorded.^[3]

The variant anta is found in several authors of the late 16th and early 17th centuries.^[3] Dante and danta arose from the frequent phrase ⟨adarga d'ante⟩ “shield of elk hide”, read as one word with the preposition.^[3][5] The Academy's 2001 dictionary derived the word from the form with ⟨d-⟩.^[6] Covarrubias thought the leather was named because it is worn in front of the chest, or that the name was a corruption of the city of Nantes.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1505, in adárgua d'ante, a leather shield made of this hide.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The Diccionario de Autoridades defines ante as the hide of the tapir or buffalo, so dressed that a sword can hardly pierce it.^[8] Terreros describes anta or ante as an animal of Paraguay and Brazil, the tapir.^[9] The Academy's 1817 dictionary still gave the hide of the tapir or buffalo, and the 1884 edition also the animal.^[10][11] Today the word names the elk and, above all, its suede-like dressed hide and leathers treated in the same way, used for shoes and clothes.^[2][12] Moliner adds its use for a light reddish brown colour.^[12]

Timeline

• 1505 – first record, in adárgua d'ante.^[3][4]
• late 16th–early 17th century – the variant anta in several authors.^[3]
• 1611 – Covarrubias explains cuera de ante, a jerkin of buffalo hide.^[7]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as the dressed hide of the tapir or buffalo.^[8]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros describes the South American anta or ante.^[9]
• 1817 – the Academy's dictionary enters the noun for the hide.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. elk, alce.^[2][1]
2. The dressed and tanned hide of the elk; suede, buff leather: unas botas de ante marrón.^[2][1][12]
3. The hide of other animals dressed and tanned in the same way.^[2]
4. (Mexico) tapir.^[2][1]

Word family

• anteado

ante² before, in the presence of

Etymology tree of ante²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin ante

Spanish ante

English ante

From the same root · ante²

English antenatal ← ante

Latin abante ← ante

Latin anteā ← ante

Latin antehāc ← ante

Latin antelucanus ← ante

Latin antequam ← ante

Latin anterior ← ante

Latin antesignanus ← ante

Latin antīquus ← ante

Latin deante ← ante

Pronunciation

• /ˈante/, [ˈãn̪.t̪e]^[1]

Etymology

The preposition is inherited from Latin ante (“before, in front of”).^[3][4][2][1] In the Middle Ages, and still in the 16th century, the word served as adverb and preposition, of time and of place, so that it covered the modern antes and delante, with or without a following ⟨de⟩.^[3][13] That adverb, also found in the Cid, adds the so-called adverbial ⟨-s⟩.^[3][14] Portuguese makes the same split between Portuguese ante and antes, while French uses devant and avant, and Catalan combines both means in Catalan davant and abans or ans.^[3][15] Old French had ains (“before; rather”), which may come from a comparative *antius.^[16]

The Latin word continues Proto-Italic *anti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti, the locative of a root noun *h₂ent- (“front”).^[17][1] Its cognates include Ancient Greek ἀντί (antí, “opposite, facing”) and the English word and.^[1][17] Final ⟨-i⟩ became ⟨-e⟩ in Latin, but it is still seen in antīquus (“former, ancient”).^[17]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Glosas Silenses (c. 950–1000) gloss Latin priusquam with ante que “before”.^[18] The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) has the adverb in Ante que anochesca pienssan de caualgar “before night falls they set off riding”, and the preposition “in the presence of”.^[18][19][3]

Semantic evolution

Old Spanish used ante as an adverb “before, earlier, first”, as an adversative “rather” after a negative clause, and as a preposition “in the presence of”, “because of” and “ahead of”; it also fused with the article as antel.^[19] In Alfonso X's Lapidario it means “in front of”.^[20] Covarrubias cites the notary's formula passó ante mí, and the noun ante “the first course of a meal”.^[7] The Diccionario de Autoridades already marked the adverb as antiquated.^[8] The 1817 Academy dictionary marked the noun for the first course as antiquated too.^[10]

In the Americas the noun lived on: in Mexico for a dessert of sponge cake with egg sweet, coconut and almond, in Peru for a cool drink of wine, fruit and spices sold with the cry ¡ante con ante!, and in Guatemala for a thick sweet of chickpea or bean flour.^{[21][22][23][2]} The purist Baralt objected in 1855 to ante with things or ideas, such as ante las palabras, holding that it should be used only of persons.^[24] The modern language uses it freely in this way, and for the situation that prompts an action.^[12][25]

Timeline

• c. 950–1000 – the Glosas Silenses gloss priusquam with ante que.^[18]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses it as adverb and preposition.^[3][4][18]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario uses it in the sense “in front of”.^[20]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives the Latin equivalents ante and prae.^[26]
• 1520 – first record in the Americas, at Darién, in the notarial por ante mí.^[27]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records the noun for the first course of a meal.^[7]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades marks the adverb as antiquated.^[8]
• 1855 – Baralt condemns ante with things instead of persons.^[24]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary enters the Peruvian drink.^[28]

Meanings

Preposition

1. In front of, facing: Ante la casa hay un jardín.^[2][1]
2. In the presence of: Declaró ante el juez.^[2][1]
3. Compared with, with respect to; faced with: Ante la lluvia, se suspendió el partido.^[2][12]

Adverb

1. (obsolete) Before, earlier (antes).^[2]

Noun

1. (obsolete) The first dish of a meal, the starter.^[2][8]
2. (Mexico, rare) A dessert of sponge cake mixed with egg sweet, coconut, almond and the like.^[2]
3. (Peru, obsolete) A refreshing drink of fruit, wine, cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg.^[2][29]
4. (Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, rare) A syrupy sweet made with chickpea or bean flour.^[2][29]

Word family

• antes