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esfuerzo

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word esfuerzo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1140 Cantar de mio Cid, in a 14th-century copy More words from the 12th century
Ultimate origin
Latin fortis

Pronunciation

  • /esˈfweɾθo/, [esˈfweɾ.θo], /esˈfweɾso/[1]

Forms

esfuerzo m (plural esfuerzos)[1] Old Spanish wrote esfuerço, also esffuerço and esforzo.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish esfuerço, a deverbal noun from Old Spanish esforçar (“to strengthen, encourage”), the verb that is now esforzar.[1][4][5] Corominas lists both the verb and the noun from the Cantar de mio Cid among the derivatives of fuerte, and calls the verb a formation common to all of western Romance.[6]

The verb continues *exfortiāre, formed with ex- on *fortiāre, from fortia (“strength, force”).[1][7] That noun was the neuter plural of fortis (“strong, brave”), taken from phrases meaning “brave deeds” and later treated as a feminine singular, the source of fuerza.[1][8] Medieval Latin texts use the compound verb for “to force, do violence to” and “to strengthen, reinforce”.[8]

The noun has its counterparts in Portuguese esforço, Catalan esforç, French effort (from Old French esfort) and Italian sforzo, and it is cognate with effort.[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, known from a 14th-century copy), Minaya Álvar Fáñez asks Cid, ¿dó son vuestros esfuerços? “Cid, where is your courage?”: the word first meant courage and strength of spirit.[3][6] In the Aragonese Fueros of 1247, the first text without a later copy, the men of a town must fer esfuerço que lo prengan “make an effort to catch” a killer.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's Lapidario a stone gives esfuerço to a man faint of heart, and the Estoria de España uses the word for help sent to an ally.[10] Nebrija gave both senses about 1495: fortitudo, robur animi “strength of mind”, and conatus “endeavour” for an effort towards something.[11] Covarrubias and the Diccionario de Autoridades still define it as courage, spirit and valour, and the Academy added “confidence” and “help”.[12][13][14]

Terreros already gives French effort as its equivalent, and in 1884 the Academy put first the energetic use of physical force against a resistance and of mental vigour against difficulties, marking “help” as obsolete.[15][16] The DLE adds the use of costly means for an end, the esfuerzo económico that Moliner describes.[4][17] In Bolivia el último esfuerzo is a couple's last child.[18]

Timeline

  • c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses esfuerços for “courage” (in a 14th-century copy).[3][6]
  • 1247 – the Fueros de Aragón use fer esfuerço “to make an effort”.[3]
  • 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario uses it for courage and daring.[10]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija gives fortitudo and conatus as its equivalents.[11]
  • 1571 – the first record from the Americas, in Mexico City.[19]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias defines it as courage, spirit and valour.[12]
  • 1817 – the Academy adds the senses “confidence” and “help”.[14]
  • 1884 – the Academy defines it first as the energetic use of strength.[16]

Meanings

Noun

  1. effort: the energetic use of physical strength against a force or resistance: Levantó el saco con mucho esfuerzo.[4][1]
  2. The energetic use of mental vigour to achieve something in spite of difficulties: Aprobó gracias a su esfuerzo.[4][20]
  3. Courage, spirit, valour.[4]
  4. The use of costly means for an end; a sacrifice, as in esfuerzo económico.[4][17]
  5. (obsolete) Help, aid.[4]
  6. (Bolivia) último esfuerzo: the last child of a couple.[18]

Usage notes

Autoridades records the phrase hacer el último esfuerzo “to do everything possible”.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. esfuerzo
  3. ^ 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. esfuerzo
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. esfuerzo
  5. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 277
  6. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 972
  7. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. esforçar
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. esforç
  10. ^ a b 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. esfuerzo
  11. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. esfuerzo
  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. 781
  13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 583
  14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 384
  15. ^ 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. 2, 90
  16. ^ 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. 454
  17. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. esfuerzo
  18. ^ 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. esfuerzo
  19. ^ 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. esfuerzo
  20. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. esfuerzo
Cite this entry

“Esfuerzo.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/esfuerzo. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·