atención

Forms

atención f (plural atenciones)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin attentiō (“application, attention”).^[2][1][3] The Latin noun is formed on attendō (“to stretch toward; to direct the mind to”) with -tiō, and the verb is ad- with tendō (“to stretch”).^[4][5] Corominas treats it in his article on tender, beside atender and atento.^[3] The verb is recorded from the Cid on, while the noun and the adjective were taken from Latin.^[3]

The same learned word is Portuguese atenção, Catalan atenció, French attention and Italian attenzione.^[6][7][1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Enrique de Villena uses it in his treatise on the evil eye, 1422–1425: praising a child does not add force to the harm, más significa la atençión del catar “but rather shows the attentiveness of the gaze”.^[9] The CDH has an earlier hit in the Gran conquista de Ultramar, where a knight mirava con mucho atención al Sepulcro, but that text, dated about 1295, is known only from a print of 1503.^[9][10] Corominas's first record is Alonso de Palencia's dictionary of 1490.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the word meant the act of attending or listening, and also an act of courtesy or respect, as in Santillana.^[10] Nebrija gives Latin attentio and intentio for it.^[11] In the Americas it is recorded from 1560, in Yucatán, in phrases such as tener atención a.^[12]

By the late 19th century the Academy's dictionary listed the senses of courtesy and respect, a wool-dealers' contract of sale without a fixed price that refers to the price others obtain, the plural atenciones “business, occupations”, the military interjection ¡atención! warning soldiers that a drill is about to begin, and the phrase en atención a “in view of”.^[13][14] Modern uses include care given to a person, as in atención al cliente and in medicine atención primaria “primary health care”.^[2][1] Psychology uses it for the faculty of directing the mind to one stimulus.^[15]

Timeline

• c. 1295 – the Gran conquista de Ultramar, known from a print of 1503.^[10][9]
• 1422–1425 – Enrique de Villena, Tratado de fascinación.^[9]
• 1490 – Alonso de Palencia, Corominas's first record.^[3]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija: Atencion. attentio .onis. intentio .onis.^[11]
• 1560 – first record in the Americas, in Yucatán.^[12]
• c. 1580 – Fray Luis de Granada uses it.^[3]
• 1899 – the Academy lists the military interjection ¡atención!.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of attending; attention: the applying of the mind and senses to something: Escucharon la explicación con mucha atención.^[2][16][1]
2. (often in the plural) courtesy, an act of respect or kindness: Nos colmaron de atenciones durante la visita.^[2][16]
3. Care or assistance given to a person: atención al cliente, atención primaria.^[2][1]
4. Among cattle farmers, a contract to buy or sell wool without a fixed price, referring to the price others obtain.^[2]
5. (in the plural) Business, obligations.^[2][16]

Interjection

1. Used to ask for special care with what is about to be said or done: ¡Atención, que el suelo está mojado!^[2]
2. (military) A word of command warning soldiers in ranks that an exercise or manoeuvre is about to begin.^[2]

Word family

• atencional

Related words

• atender
• atento
• tender
• Latin attentio

Usage notes

Common phrases are prestar atención “to pay attention”, llamar la atención “to attract attention; to reprimand” and en atención a “in view of, considering”.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. atención
3. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 459
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. attentio
5. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 95
6. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 395
7. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. atenció
8. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 65
9. ^ 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. atención
10. ^ 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. 435
11. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. atención
12. ^ a b 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. atención
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 106
14. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 191
15. ^ Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. atención
16. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. atención