duelo

duelo¹ duel

Etymology tree of duelo¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin duellum

English duel

Spanish duelo

From the same root · duelo¹

Latin bellum ← duellum

Latin perduellis ← duellum

Pronunciation

• /ˈdwelo/, [ˈd̪we.lo]^[1]

Forms

duelo m (plural duelos)^[1]

Etymology

The word for a duel is borrowed from Medieval Latin duellum (“combat between two”).^[2][3][4][1] In classical Latin the word meant “war” and was an archaic variant of Latin bellum; the sense “fight between two” came from a popular association with duo (“two”).^[2][3][4][5] De Vaan notes that Plautus still has the older form with ⟨du-⟩, and that later poets use it with three syllables, either by folk etymology from the numeral or by a regular change.^[6] Vox dates the borrowing to the 15th century.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alonso de Cartagena (died 1456) is the first to use it, but he calls it a word of the jurists and explains it, which shows that it was not in ordinary use.^[2] Autoridades quotes the Doctrinal de caballeros on a kind of trial combat la qual los Juristas dicen duelo, que quiere decir batalla de dos “which the jurists call duelo, meaning a battle of two”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed rare: in 1566 Urrea says that Italian duello is the equivalent of Castilian desafío “challenge”.^[2] Corominas and the BDELC date its use in Spanish to 1565, perhaps the mid-15th century.^[3] Covarrubias and Oudin record it, and Mateo Ibáñez uses it around 1700.^[3][2] Autoridades defines it as a combat between two people fought hand to hand at an appointed place and time, to clear a suspicion, settle a right, win a name for courage or take revenge.^[8] Today it also means any contest between two people or teams, as in a sports match or a debate.^[4][7]

Timeline

• before 1456 – Alonso de Cartagena uses it as a lawyers' term.^[2]
• 1565 – the BDELC's date for the word.^[3][9]
• 1566 – Urrea gives Italian duello as the equivalent of desafío.^[2]
• 1732 – Autoridades defines it and explains it as duorum bellum “war of two”.^[8]
• 1884 – the Academy gives two entries duelo, one from Latin duellum.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A duel: a fight between two people after a challenge.^[4][11][1]
2. A contest between two people or two groups.^[4][11]
3. (obsolete) A point of honour.^[4][11]

Word family

• duelista

duelo² grief, mourning

Etymology tree of duelo²

inherited borrowed derived

Latin dolus

Spanish duelo

From the same root · duelo²

Latin dolōsus ← dolus

Latin sēdulō ← dolus

Latin sēdulus ← dolus

Latin subdolus ← dolus

Pronunciation

• /ˈdwelo/, [ˈd̪we.lo]^[1]

Forms

duelo m (plural duelos)^[1]

Etymology

The word for grief is inherited from Old Spanish duelo, inherited from Late Latin dolus (“pain, grief”), a Late Latin noun beside Latin dolor (“pain”) and the verb doleō (“to feel pain”).^{[12][13][4][1]} Gómez de Silva sees the influence of the classical homonym meaning “fraud, trick”.^[14] The same word is Portuguese dó, Catalan dol, French deuil, Italian duolo and Romanian dor.^{[15][16][17][1]} Vox calls it an inherited word.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, in a 14th-century copy) has Grande duelo avién las yentes cristianas “the Christian people were in great sorrow”, when no one dares to shelter the exiled Cid.^[18][12] Menéndez Pidal treats it as a postverbal noun of doler.^[19]

Semantic evolution

Old Spanish used it for grief and pain, in fazer duelo “to lament”, aver duelo de “to pity” and sin duelo “without pity” or “freely”.^[15] The modern special sense “grief for someone's death” has old roots, as in the title of Berceo's Duelo de la Virgen.^[12][20] Covarrubias records the proverbs Los duelos con pan son menos “sorrows with bread are less” and A do no está su dueño, está su duelo.^[21] Autoridades adds the funeral ceremony and the people who attend the bereaved, quoting a decree of 1691.^[8] The plural duelos means toil and hardships, and duelos y quebrantos names a fry-up of eggs and pork fat.^[4] In Salamanca and Aragon it still means pity.^[22][23]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid has grande duelo.^[18][12]
• c. 1230–1260 – the Libre dels tres reys d'Orient, the earliest manuscript of its time with the word.^[18]
• 13th century – Berceo's Duelo de la Virgen.^[12]
• 1557 – the proverb about the owner and his duelo is recorded in Bogotá.^[24]
• 1591 – Percyvall glosses it “griefe, mourning”.^[25]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records two proverbs.^[21]
• 1732 – Autoridades adds the funeral sense.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. grief, sorrow, affliction.^[4][11][1]
2. The outward signs of grief for someone's death; mourning.^[4][11][1]
3. The gathering of relatives and friends at the house of the dead, the funeral procession or the funeral.^[4][11]
4. (chiefly in the plural) Toil, hardship.^[4]