despecho

Forms

despecho m (plural despechos)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dēspectus (“contempt”), the action noun of dēspiciō (“to look down on, despise”).^[2][3][1] The Latin verb is formed from dē- (“down from”) and speciō (“to look”).^[4][5] The sense “contempt” survived in medieval Spanish.^[2][6] The group /kt/ became /tʃ/, as usual in inherited words; the learned despectivo keeps the /kt/.^[5]

The same word is Portuguese despeito, Galician despeito, Catalan despit, Old Occitan despiech, French dépit and Italian dispetto.^[7][8] It is cognate with the English despite.^[1] French has had it since 1140, first as despit.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates it 1220–1250.^[2] In Berceo it means anger and also an offence: in the Vida de San Millán the devil feels muy grand despecho at the saint's progress, and the Loores de Nuestra Señora speak of the first despecho, the sin of Adam and Eve.^[10][11] The Fuero Juzgo (c. 1250–1260) uses it for an insult done to a master by his slave.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In Old Spanish the word covered contempt, insult, anger and fury.^[2][11] Covarrubias in 1611 defined it as displeasure and rage, a kind of despair at what one has failed to get, and recorded a despecho mío “against my will”.^[12] Autoridades gave rage and despair, vehement sorrow, and the harshness of the weather, and wondered whether the word came from Italian dispetto or from des- and pecho.^[13] Nascentes thought the Portuguese sense change from “contempt” to “resentment at an offence” owed something to the word peito being heard in it.^[14]

The 1884 edition of the Academy's dictionary gave the modern definition, ill will born of disappointed hopes or wounded pride, which the DLE keeps.^[15][3] In the Americas a su despecho “against their will” is recorded from 1539.^[16]

Timeline

• 1220–1250 – first records, with the verb despechar.^[2]
• c. 1236 – Berceo's Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos, in a late 13th-century copy, has grand despecho.^[10]
• c. 1250–1260 – the Fuero Juzgo uses it for an insult.^[10]
• 1284–1345 – the Estoria de España uses it for violent ill will.^[17]
• 1539 – a su despecho in New Granada, the first record in the Americas.^[16]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records a despecho mío.^[12]
• 1832 – the learned despectivo.^[2]
• 1884 – the Academy's definition of resentment from disappointment.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. spite, resentment: ill will born of disappointed hopes or of wounded pride: Rompió las cartas por despecho.^[3][18][1]
2. despair (desesperación).^[3][1]
3. (obsolete) Deep sorrow or displeasure.^[3]
4. (obsolete) Harshness, of the weather or the night.^[3][18]

Word family

• despechar

Related words

• despectivo
• Latin dēspectus
• Portuguese despeito
• French dépit
• English despite

Usage notes

A despecho de means “in spite of, despite”: Salió a navegar a despecho del temporal.^[3][18] A separate colloquial despecho “weaning” is formed from des- and pecho “breast”, according to the DLE;^[3][19] García de Diego derives it from despechar “to wean”.^[3][19] This word is recorded in Andalusia, Chile, Honduras and Puerto Rico.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. despecho
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. despecho
4. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 225
5. ^ a b Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. despecho
6. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 211
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. despectus
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. dépit
10. ^ 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. despecho
11. ^ a b Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 297
12. ^ 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. 660
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 210
14. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. despeito
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 372
16. ^ 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. despecho
17. ^ 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. despecho
18. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. despecho
19. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. pectus
20. ^ Alcalá Venceslada, Antonio (1951), Vocabulario andaluz, Madrid: Real Academia Española, p. 224
21. ^ Medina, José Toribio (1927), Chilenismos: apuntes lexicográficos, Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Universo, p. 34
22. ^ Membreño, Alberto (1897), Hondureñismos: vocabulario de los provincialismos de Honduras, 2nd ed., Tegucigalpa: Tipografía Nacional, p. 62
23. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1942), Diccionario general de americanismos, 3 vols., México: Pedro Robredo, p. 570
24. ^ Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. despecho