bailar

Forms

bailar (first-person singular present bailo, first-person singular preterite bailé, past participle bailado)^[1] Old Spanish wrote bailar, baylar, ballar, bayllar, balar, vaylar and baillar;^[2] baillar survives in the Asturian of Sobrescobio.^[3] The Asturian word is beichar.^[2]

Etymology

Corominas considers it borrowed from Old Occitan balar (“to dance”), altered in Spain by crossing with a native bailar (“to rock a cradle”).^[4][5] The Occitan verb is from Late Latin ballāre (“to dance”), which he traces to Ancient Greek πάλλω (pállō, “to leap, to quiver”).^[4][5] That native verb he derives from Latin bāiulō (“to carry on one's back”), which took the sense “rock, swing” under the influence of bāiula (“wet nurse”); it is still used in a conservative part of Upper Aragon.^[4][5] Wiktionary gives the same Occitan source and relates the Late Latin verb to βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”).^[1] The DLE is more cautious: perhaps from the Late Latin verb, which perhaps comes from the Greek verb for “shake, dance”.^[6]

Corominas argues that neither a native word nor a plain loan from Occitan would have the ⟨i⟩.^[4] He also rejects the etymology proposed by Leite de Vasconcelos, which would explain only dialectal balhar, a Greek βαδίζω (badízō, “to walk”) and Brüch's idea of a Mozarabic form, and considers the verb a fashionable word from beyond the Pyrenees, like danzar.^[4] García de Diego instead derives the Spanish verb from the Latin verb for carrying, and holds that the Late Latin verb for dancing only lent it the sense “dance”.^[2] Gómez de Silva goes back through βαλλίζω (ballízō, “to dance”) to Proto-Indo-European *gʷel- (“to throw, to reach”).^[7]

The Latin verb is Italian ballare, Old French baler, Catalan ballar and Portuguese bailar.^[8][1] In the west of the Peninsula the word occurs in the 13th century in the Galician poet Martín Codax and in King Denis of Portugal.^[4] Before the 13th century Castile used sotar, from saltō (“to jump, dance”), and the Glosas Silenses render the Late Latin verb by “to sing”, as if the glossator did not know it.^[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest records are in the spelling ballar in Alfonso X's book on the judgements of the stars, 1254: a man born under a certain sign ama sotar & ballar “loves to leap and to dance”.^[10][3] The Old Spanish Gospel of Matthew, in a manuscript of the mid-13th century, has the line Cantamos a uos e no baylastes “we sang to you and you did not dance”.^[11][12] Corominas's first record is the astronomical books of Alfonso X, about 1270.^[4][5] The Historia de la donzella Teodor, dated about 1250 but known from 16th-century prints, already names it among a lady's accomplishments.^[3][11]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb meant moving the body in time to music.^[12] It was common in the 15th century, and in the course of time danzar became its rival.^[4] Covarrubias in 1611 took both baile and bailar from the Tuscan ballo and ballare; he added that dancing is not evil in itself, though lascivious dances, above all in churches, are condemned.^[13] Autoridades in 1726 defined it as moving the body, feet and arms in order and in time to an instrument, recorded the thieves' cant sense “to steal” from Juan Hidalgo, and gave the phrase bailar el agua delante “to wait on someone eagerly”.^[14]

The transferred sense of a thing turning on its axis, like a top, entered the Academy's dictionary by 1843, with the phrase bailar el pelado “to be penniless” and the proverb si Marina bailó, tome lo que halló.^[15] Later senses are a tooth or a piece that moves loosely in its place, and in printing a letter or line out of place.^[6][16] In the Americas the earliest records are from Michoacán in 1541, describing the dances of the native peoples.^[17] Colloquial American senses include “to cheat” in Mexico and Central America, “to kill” in Mexico, Honduras and Cuba, and in football and basketball “to dribble past an opponent”.^[18][1] In the Canaries it can mean to steal or to eat or drink something up quickly.^[19]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – the Historia de la donzella Teodor (known from 16th-century prints): Aprendí baylar e sotar e cantar.^[3]
• 1254 – Alfonso X's book of the judgements of the stars has ama sotar & ballar.^[10][3]
• mid-13th century – the Old Spanish Gospel of Matthew: no baylastes.^[11]
• c. 1270 – Corominas's first record, in Alfonso X's astronomical books.^[4][5]
• 1330–1343 – Juan Ruiz uses it in the Libro de buen amor.^[20]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives bailar o dançar with Latin salto and tripudio.^[21]
• 1541 – first record in the Americas, in Michoacán.^[17]
• 1611 – Covarrubias derives it from Tuscan ballare.^[13]
• 1726 – Autoridades records the cant sense “to steal” and bailar el agua delante.^[14]
• 1884 – the Academy's first etymology derives it from Low Latin balare.^[22]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, also transitive) To dance: to move the body, arms and feet in rhythm: Bailamos una cumbia en la plaza.^[6][1]
2. (intransitive) Of a thing, to move about without leaving its place; to be loose: A la silla le baila una pata.^[6][16]
3. (intransitive, also transitive) Of a spinning top or similar thing, to spin fast while balanced on one end.^[6]
4. (intransitive) To jump for joy; of the eyes, to be lively.^[6]
5. (equitation) Of a horse, to make irregular, nervous movements.^[6][16]
6. (printing) Of a line, word or letter, to slip out of its place;^[16] (colloquial) to swap figures or letters by mistake.^[6][16]
7. (slang) To steal;^[18] (Honduras) to kill;^[18] (El Salvador, reflexive) to deceive.^[6][18]
8. (sports, Latin America) To dribble past an opponent.^[18][1]

Word family

• baile
• bailarín
• bailable
• bailador
• bailón

Related words

• danzar
• balada
• Catalan ballar
• Italian ballare

Usage notes

Colloquial phrases include ¡que me quiten lo bailado!, said when later troubles cannot undo the pleasure already had, and otro que tal baila, said of someone who behaves just as badly as another.^[6] Bailar con la más fea means to get the worst part of a job.^[1][23]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 897
3. ^ 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. bailar
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 459
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. bailar
6. ^ 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. bailar
7. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 106
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. ballare
9. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 878
10. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. bailar
11. ^ 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. bailar
12. ^ a b 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. 481
13. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 267
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 531
15. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 86
16. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. bailar
17. ^ 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. bailar
18. ^ a b c d e Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. bailar
19. ^ Academia Canaria de la Lengua (2010), Diccionario básico de canarismos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; online at https://www.academiacanarialengua.org, p. s.v. bailar
20. ^ Boggs, R. S.; Kasten, Lloyd; Keniston, Hayward; Richardson, H. B. (1946), Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, 2 vols., Chapel Hill, N.C., p. 67
21. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 301
22. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 129
23. ^ Alcalá Venceslada, Antonio (1951), Vocabulario andaluz, Madrid: Real Academia Española, p. 76