estimar

Forms

estimar (first-person singular present estimo, first-person singular preterite estimé, past participle estimado)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin aestimō (“to value, appraise; to esteem; to judge”).^[2][3][4][1]

The popular descendant of a Vulgar Latin derivative, Vulgar Latin *adaestimō, was Old Spanish asmar “to think, judge” (aesmar in the Fuero Juzgo), very common in Old Spanish from the Cid to the early 15th century.^[2] It has cognates in Portuguese esmar, Catalan esmar and Old French esmer.^[5][1]

The Latin verb has an older form aestumō, of uncertain origin.^[6][1] The old explanation from aes (“bronze, money”) and a word for “cut” is not convincing to de Vaan, who prefers a link with Proto-Indo-European *h₂eys- (“to seek”), the root of aeruscō (“to beg”).^[6][1] Gómez de Silva still gives the derivation from the word for bronze as possible.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas's first record is a Toledo glossary of about 1400, where it translates Latin aestimare.^[2][3] The CDH has earlier records: a letter of Alfonso X of 1254 orders the keepers of the university to value the properties of the town por derecho aluguero “at a fair rent”, and the Aragonese Vidal Mayor (c. 1250) already has the participle estimada “valued”.^[8] In the prose of Alfonso X it means both “to appraise, put a price on” and “to judge, believe”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija gives it as tassar, apreciar “to value, appraise”.^[10] Covarrubias (1611) adds “to esteem, revere” and the phrases estimarse en mucho “to think highly of oneself” and estimarse en poco “to be humble”.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades puts the price first and then the general sense of holding someone in esteem.^[12] Today it also means to believe something from the available data, and in law to uphold a petition or appeal.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – the participle estimada in the Vidal Mayor.^[8]
• 1254 – a letter of Alfonso X uses it for valuing houses.^[8]
• 1256–1263 – the Primera Partida uses it for a judge's assessment.^[8]
• c. 1400 – Corominas's first record, in a Toledo glossary.^[2]
• 1490 – first record of the derivative estima.^[3]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records estimarse en mucho and en poco.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To estimate, to calculate the value of something: Estimaron las pérdidas en dos millones.^[4][1]
2. To attach value to something: Estimo mucho tus consejos.^[4]
3. To esteem, to feel affection or regard for someone.^[4][1]
4. To consider or judge something on the basis of the data one has.^[4][1]
5. To consider something to be a certain way: Estimó necesario intervenir.^[4]
6. (law) To uphold a petition, claim or appeal.^[4]

Word family

• estimación
• estima
• estimable
• estimativa
• desestimar
• inestimable
• autoestima
• estimado
• sobreestimar

Related words

• asmar
• existimar
• Latin aestimō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 789
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. estimar
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. estimar
5. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. aestimare
6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. aestimō
7. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. estimar
8. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. estimar
9. ^ 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. estimar
10. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 351
11. ^ 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. 807
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 636