cartón

Forms

cartón m (plural cartones)^[1]

Etymology

In Corominas's view it is borrowed from Italian cartone, the augmentative of carta (“paper”), and dates it to the 16th century, with Diego Colón.^[2][3] Gómez de Silva and Bénaben agree, and Segura also gives the Italian source but dates the word to the 15th century.^[4][5][6] The DLE and Wiktionary instead derive it within Spanish, from Spanish carta (“paper”) + -ón.^[7][1] The Italian word is first recorded in the 16th century.^[8]

The Spanish base word comes from Latin charta (“paper”), itself from Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “papyrus, sheet of paper”).^[2][4] Several other words of the same family came through Italian too: cartela, cartulina and, through French, cartucho.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's earliest hits are a surname Carton in charters of 1239–1281 and the name of the king of Tyre, Carthon, in Alfonso X; the word itself appears in 1518, in a document about painting a royal chapel, which mentions two cartones, one of the Flood and one of the Descent from the Cross: these are full-size designs for paintings.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were those of the arts: the painter's full-size design, which the contracts of the 1560s required to be shown before the work began, and in architecture and goldsmith's work a scroll-like ornament (1562, 1572).^[9] Terreros (1786) gives the material made of sheets of paper glued together or of pulp, beside the painter's design.^[10] From the Americas it is recorded in 1714, in Nueva Vizcaya, and as a material in 1775 and 1798.^[11]

The Academy's 1899 edition gave the material, the thick sheet and the metal ornament imitating long leaves, and Alemany (1917) added the painter's design and cartón piedra “papier-mâché”.^[12][13] The modern DLE adds the bingo card, the carton for milk and other products, and the carton of ten packets of cigarettes.^[7] In several Central and South American countries cartón is also a colloquial word for a degree certificate.^[14][1]

Timeline

• 1239 – a surname Carton in a charter (not the word).^[9]
• 16th century – first record according to Corominas, with Diego Colón.^[2][3]
• 1518 – two cartones (designs) for paintings in a royal chapel.^[9]
• 1562 – cartones as an ornament on the setting of a ring.^[9]
• 1575 – Pedro Ruiz describes a cartoncito marked with the points of the compass.^[9]
• 1714 – first record from the Americas, in Nueva Vizcaya (Mexico).^[11]
• 1786 – Terreros defines the material and the painter's design.^[10]
• 1899 – the Academy enters it with the etymology “from carta, paper”.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. cardboard, paperboard: a material made of layers of paper pulp pressed together and dried.^[7][1]
2. A sheet or piece of this material.^[7]
3. A card with printed numbers used in bingo or in a home lottery.^[7]
4. A carton or box for certain products: Compré dos cartones de zumo.^[7][15]
5. An ornament of iron, brass or another metal imitating the long leaves of some plants.^[7]
6. (architecture) A projecting ornament on the keystone of a Roman arch, usually bearing an acanthus leaf.^[7]
7. (painting) A full-size drawing on paper or canvas used as the model for a painting, mosaic, tapestry or stained glass, a cartoon.^[7][15]
8. (colloquial, Central and South America) A degree certificate.^[14][1]

Word family

• acartonar
• cartonaje
• cartonero
• encartonar

Related words

• carta
• cartulina
• cartucho
• Italian cartone

Usage notes

Cartón piedra is papier-mâché, and de cartón piedra means “fake, artificial”.^[7][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 898
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. carta
4. ^ a b Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 156
5. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. cartón
6. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 115
7. ^ 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. cartón
8. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE
10. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 1, 371
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 203
13. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 345
14. ^ 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. cartón
15. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cartón