dedo

Forms

dedo m (plural dedos)^[1] Asturian has deu and diu, Ribagorzan and western Asturian dido, Andalusian, Extremaduran and Cantabrian deo, and Pyrenean Aragonese dito.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish dedo, inherited from Latin digitus (“finger, toe”).^[3][4][5][1]

The same word is Portuguese dedo, Galician dedo, Catalan dit, French doigt, Italian dito and Romanian deget.^[1][6] Bénaben derives it from a contracted Vulgar Latin *ditus, and Lanchetas cites the Vulgar Latin spellings degito and degeto.^[7][8] Coromines notes that the ⟨i⟩ of the Catalan and Italian forms does not match the Latin short vowel that the Spanish and French words continue, and points to such a contracted variant in late Vulgar Latin.^[9]

Wiktionary traces the Latin word to Proto-Indo-European *deyǵ- (“to show, point out”).^[1] De Vaan finds a link with dīcō (“to say”) attractive for the meaning, but notes that the voicing it would need has no parallel in Latin, and that no root of the form *d(e)ig- is attested with certainty.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DCECH and the BDELC date the word to the Fuero de Avilés of 1155.^[3][4] In the CDH the earliest hit is the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), on the tablets „escriptas con el dedo de Dios” “written with the finger of God”.^[11] The Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250) has a law on whoever cuts off another's finger.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's prose already uses dedo for the finger, for a measure of length, and in astronomy for each of the twelve divisions of a shadow line;^[12] dedo de Dios named God's power shown in a wonder.^[12] Autoridades in 1732 defined the measure as one of the 48 parts of the Castilian vara, and also used dedo for a tiny portion, un dedo de pan.^[13] By 1899 the Academy gave the measure as a twelfth of a palm, about 18 mm.^[14]

Many idioms grew around the word: Covarrubias in 1611 records medir a dedos “to examine closely” and alzar el dedo “to give one's word”, and Cervantes has como anillo al dedo “just right”.^[15][16] Today a dedo means appointed by personal favour or travelling by hitchhiking, and hacer dedo is to hitchhike.^[5] In Mexico and El Salvador dedo is an informer, and in parts of Central America a single banana of a bunch.^[17]

Timeline

• 1155 – first record, in the Fuero de Avilés.^[3][4]
• c. 1200 – the Fazienda de Ultra Mar speaks of the finger of God.^[11]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario uses the word for the finger.^[12]
• 1272–1275 – Alfonso X's prose uses it as a measure of length.^[12]
• 1494 – first record in the Americas, at Santo Domingo, as a measure of water depth.^[18]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin digitus as its equivalent.^[19]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records medir a dedos and alzar el dedo.^[15]
• 1732 – Autoridades defines the finger and the measure.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A finger or toe: each of the five jointed end parts of the hand and foot, in humans and many animals.^[5][1]
2. A former measure of length, a twelfth of a palm, about 18 mm.^[5]
3. A measure of ten knuckles used to count stitches in knitting.^[5]
4. A portion of something about as wide as a finger: Sírveme solo dos dedos de café.^[5]
5. (mechanics) A part whose tip pushes another.^[5]

Word family

• dedal
• dedil
• dedillo
• dedazo
• dedocracia

Related words

• dactilar
• digital
• dígito
• Latin digitus

Usage notes

The fingers have their own names: dedo pulgar or dedo gordo “thumb”, dedo índice “forefinger”, dedo corazón “middle finger”, dedo anular “ring finger” and dedo meñique “little finger”;^[5] dedo gordo is also the big toe.^[5] Common idioms are no tener dos dedos de frente “to be dim”, poner el dedo en la llaga “to touch a sore point” and no mover un dedo “not to lift a finger”.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. digitus
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 434
4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. dedo
5. ^ 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. dedo
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. dedo
7. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. dedo
8. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 282
9. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 3, 152
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. digitus
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. dedo
12. ^ a b c d 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. dedo
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 44
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 316
15. ^ 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. 638
16. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 373
17. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. dedo
18. ^ 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. dedo
19. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 328