Etymologically
Log in

enfermero

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Spanish word enfermero

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1228 a document of San Zoilo de Carrión More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin īnfirmus

Pronunciation

  • /enfeɾˈmeɾo/, [ẽɱ.feɾˈme.ɾo][1]

Forms

enfermero m (plural enfermeros, feminine enfermera, feminine plural enfermeras)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish enfermo + -ero, “one who has to do with the sick”.[2][1][3] The base enfermo “sick” is a semi-learned descendant of Latin īnfirmus (“weak, infirm, sick”), itself made of in- (“not”) and firmus (“strong, firm”).[4][1]

Formations of the same kind are Portuguese enfermeiro, French infirmier and Italian infermiere.[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DEMel's first records are documents of 1228 from San Zoilo de Carrión and of 1235 from León.[6] The DTME dates it from 1254.[3] Corominas dates it from Saint Teresa, about 1570.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The Autoridades defines the enfermero or enfermera as a person whose office is to care for the sick, and a Guatemalan text of 1716 speaks of the enfermero of a convent.[8][9] The Autoridades quotes Saint Teresa's Fundaciones for the feminine and gives the Latin equivalent valetudinarii praefectus “head of the infirmary”.[8] The Academy's definition stayed close to “a person appointed to care for the sick” in the editions from 1817 to 1899.[10][11] Moliner describes the modern profession as attending the sick in hospitals and clinics and assisting the doctors.[12] The DLE now defines it as a person legally authorised to practise nursing, and the DTME as a university-trained health professional.[2][3]

Timeline

  • 1228 – a document of San Zoilo de Carrión has enfermero.[6]
  • 1235 – the word appears in Leonese documents.[6]
  • 1330 – the first occurrence in the Old Spanish Textual Archive.[13]
  • c. 1570 – Saint Teresa uses it, Corominas's first record.[4][7]
  • 1602 – first record in the Americas, in Mexico: los médicos y enfermeros.[9]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary defines it as a person appointed to care for the sick.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A nurse: a person legally qualified to practise nursing (enfermería).[2][1][3]
  2. (colloquial) A person who looks after someone who is ill: Fui la enfermera de mi abuela todo el verano.[2]

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to nursing or to nurses.[2][3]
  • enfermo
  • enfermería
  • enfermedad
  • enfermar
  • Latin īnfirmus

Usage notes

The feminine enfermera is the usual form for a woman.[1][2] The DTME notes that the adjectival use can meet with objections as irregular.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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. enfermero
  3. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. enfermero
  4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 615
  5. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. enfermeiro
  6. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. enfermero
  7. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. enfermo
  8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 463
  9. ^ 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. enfermero
  10. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 359
  11. ^ 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. 427
  12. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. enfermero
  13. ^ Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org, p. s.v. enfermero
Cite this entry

“Enfermero.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/enfermero. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·