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enamorar

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word enamorar

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1236 Gonzalo de Berceo, Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin amor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin amō
French aimer
Italian amare
Spanish amar
Latin amor
French amour
Italian amore
Spanish amor
Spanish enamorar
From the same root
English amateur ← amō
Latin adamō ← amō
Latin amābilis ← amō
Latin amāns ← amō
Latin amātor ← amō
Latin amīcus ← amō
Spanish amante ← amar
Latin amōrōsus ← amor
Italian innamorato ← amore
Spanish amoroso ← amor

Pronunciation

  • /enamoˈɾaɾ/, [e.na.moˈɾaɾ][1]

Forms

enamorar (first-person singular present enamoro, first-person singular preterite enamoré, past participle enamorado)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish en- + amor + -ar.[1][2][3] Corominas treats it in his article on amar, among the derivatives of the noun, and dates it to Berceo.[4] The BDELC gives 1438.[5] The noun continues Latin amor, from amō (“to love”).[4]

Parallel formations are Catalan enamorar, French énamourer and Italian innamorare.[6][1][7] Portuguese namorar “to court” is the form without the first syllable, recorded from the 13th century.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first hit is Berceo's life of Saint Dominic of Silos, about 1236, in a copy of the late 13th century: a girl era de Dios enamorada “was in love with God”.[10] The infinitive is in the Libro de Alexandre, 1240–1250, where a rich man fell deeply in love with the queen (ovos de la reína fuert' a enamorar).[10] Alfonso X's Lapidario has the reflexive: whoever carries a certain stone no se enamora “does not fall in love”.[11][10]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century the verb had both its transitive sense, to inspire love, and the reflexive enamorarse de “to fall in love with”.[12][11] Alfonso X also used it for taking a liking to a thing.[11] Covarrubias in 1611 describes a woman who makes another desire her with her finery and flattery.[13] Autoridades gives two senses: to arouse someone's love, quoting the Quijote (no todas hermosuras enamoran), and to court someone.[3]

The Academy in 1817 had “to arouse love” and “to say words of love”; the reflexive was added in 1843, and the DLE now also has “to become fond of something”.[14][15][16] In the Canaries enamorar and namorar mean to court as sweethearts, a meaning taken from Portuguese namorar.[1][17] In Puerto Rico it means to court a woman, and in Bolivia to have a relationship without marriage.[18][19]

Timeline

  • c. 1236 – Berceo: era de Dios enamorada.[10]
  • 1240–1250 – the Libro de Alexandre has the infinitive.[10]
  • 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario: no se enamora.[11]
  • 1330–1343 – Juan Ruiz uses it in the Libro de buen amor.[12]
  • 1438 – the BDELC's date.[5]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija: Enamorar a otro. concilio .as. in amorem.[20]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias defines it.[13]
  • 1635 – first record in the Americas, in Guatemala.[21]
  • 1843 – the Academy adds the reflexive “to fall in love with someone”.[15]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To make someone fall in love; to enamour: La enamoró con sus cartas.[16][1]
  2. (transitive) To court, to say words of love to someone.[16][22]
  3. (reflexive) To fall in love: Se enamoró de su vecina en un verano.[16][1]
  4. (reflexive) To become very fond of something: Nos enamoramos de aquel pueblo.[16][22]
  5. (intransitive, Bolivia) To have a love relationship without marriage.[19]

Word family

  • enamorado
  • enamoradizo
  • enamoramiento
  • enamoricarse
  • amar
  • amor
  • Portuguese namorar
  • Italian innamorare

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 257
  3. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 422
  4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 232
  5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. amar
  6. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. enamorar
  7. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. innamorare
  8. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 2318
  9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. namorar
  10. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. enamorar
  11. ^ 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. enamorar
  12. ^ a b Boggs, R. S.; Kasten, Lloyd; Keniston, Hayward; Richardson, H. B. (1946), Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, 2 vols., Chapel Hill, N.C., p. 207
  13. ^ 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. 729
  14. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 351
  15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 285
  16. ^ a b c d e 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. enamorar
  17. ^ Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. enamorar
  18. ^ Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. enamorar
  19. ^ 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. enamorar
  20. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 342
  21. ^ 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. enamorar
  22. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. enamorar
Cite this entry

“Enamorar.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/enamorar. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·