ducir

Forms

ducir (first-person singular present duzco, first-person singular preterite duje, past participle ducido)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dūcō (“to lead, conduct”).^[1][2] The REW lists the Spanish verb with its Romance cognates Romanian duce, Italian ducere, French duire, Old Occitan duzir and Catalan dur.^[3][2]

The Latin verb goes back to *doukō, from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to draw, pull”); it is cognate with English tow.^[4][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Autoridades says the verb has little use and quotes the Regimiento de Príncipes: y duce este Maestro al Rey, y a todo home ser mui estudioso “and this master leads the king, and every man, to be very studious”.^[6] It defines the sense as to guide, teach and train.^[6]

Semantic evolution

García de Diego records ducir “to conduct” as Old Castilian.^[2] Terreros already marked it as antiquated, and Salvá and Gaspar y Roig list “to guide” as obsolete and “to teach” as an obsolete figurative sense.^[7][8][9] The Latin verb lives on in Spanish through learned compounds such as aducir, conducir, deducir and producir, taken from Latin.^[10]

Timeline

• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records it as a rare verb meaning “to guide, teach”.^[6]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros marks it as antiquated.^[7]
• 1846 – Salvá lists “to guide” and “to teach” as obsolete.^[8]
• 1853–1855 – Gaspar y Roig give “to guide, conduct” and “to train, teach”.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (obsolete) To guide, to lead.^[1][11][8]
2. (obsolete) To teach, instruct.^[1][11][8]
3. (obsolete) To train, school, drill.^[1][11]

Related words

• conducir
• aducir
• deducir
• producir
• Latin dūcō
• Catalan dur

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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. 2366
3. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 345
7. ^ 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, 706
8. ^ a b c d Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá
9. ^ a b Gaspar y Roig (eds.) (1853–1855), Biblioteca ilustrada de Gaspar y Roig: Diccionario enciclopédico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Imprenta y Librería de Gaspar y Roig
10. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 61
11. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro