gobernar

Forms

gobernar (first-person singular present gobierno, first-person singular preterite goberné, past participle gobernado)^[1] In the Middle Ages and as late as Nebrija it was usually spelt governar.^[2] Autoridades insisted on ⟨b⟩ because of the Latin.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish governar, inherited from Latin gubernō (“to steer a ship; to direct, govern”).^[2][4][5][1] The Latin verb was taken from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer”).^[2][5][1] Beekes attributes the Greek word to a Mediterranean substrate, probably Pre-Greek, while Neumann connects it with κύρβεις (kúrbeis, “turning wooden cylinders”) and Proto-Indo-European *kʷerb- (“to turn”).^[1][6]

The same Latin verb is Portuguese governar, Galician gobernar, Catalan governar, French gouverner and Italian governare.^[7][8][9][1] Latin already used it figuratively, as in governing the state, so the wider sense is old.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DCECH dates the first record to the Glosas Silenses of the second half of the 10th century.^[2] In La fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy) Jacob speaks of God quim governo desque fuy troal dia d'oy “who has guided me from my birth to this day”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages the nautical sense “steer a ship” was still the most frequent, but Berceo already uses the wider sense “direct, rule”.^[2] Another old sense, “feed, sustain”, was widespread: Juan Ruiz and many Renaissance texts use it, gobierno meant “food” about 1330, and Covarrubias records it as a falconers' term for a well-fed hawk.^[2][11] Alfonso X's prose already shows the senses “rule”, “guide”, “feed” and “arrange”.^[12] In the Golden Age the word was a noble one, favoured by the culteranos.^[2]

The Academy's dictionary of 1884 marked “feed” as obsolete and listed “obey the helm” of a ship.^[13] Regional speech keeps humbler senses: in Andalusia “mend old clothes”, in the Canaries “repair; do the housework”, in León “cook a meal”, and in El Salvador “bend a branch to train it”.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Timeline

• 950–1000 – the Glosas Silenses, the first record.^[2][4]
• c. 1200 – La fazienda de Ultra Mar (in a 13th-century copy) has governo “guided”.^[10]
• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes, the first hit known from a contemporary text.^[10]
• 1220–1250 – Berceo uses it for ruling and the derivative gobernador.^[2][4]
• 1254 – Alfonso X's Judizios de las estrellas uses it for “rule”.^[12]
• c. 1330 – gobierno appears, in the sense “food”, in the Conde Lucanor.^[2][4]
• 1495 – Nebrija writes governar and records gobernación and desgobernar.^[2][4]
• 1529 – first record in the Americas, in Nicaragua.^[18]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records the sense “maintain, feed”.^[11]
• 1884 – the Academy marks “feed” as obsolete.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, also intransitive) To command with authority, to rule.^[5][1]
2. (transitive, mostly intransitive) To govern a country or political community: El partido gobernó durante dos legislaturas.^[5][1]
3. (transitive, also reflexive) To guide and direct; to steer a ship or vehicle.^[5][1]
4. (transitive) To manage someone, to have a strong influence over them.^[5][19]
5. (transitive, colloquial) To mend, put in order.^[5]
6. (transitive, obsolete) To feed, sustain.^[5]
7. (intransitive, nautical) Of a ship: to answer the helm.^[5]
8. (reflexive) To be guided by a rule or idea, (obsolete) to behave.^[5]

Word family

• gobernable
• gobernación
• gobernador
• gobernante
• desgobernar
• gobierno
• gobernárselas

Related words

• gobernalle
• gubernativo
• gubernamental
• cibernética
• Latin gubernō

Usage notes

Gobernárselas means to manage one's affairs skilfully.^[19]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 156
3. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 56
4. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. gobernar
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. gobernar
6. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. gubernare
8. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 4, 594
9. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 1705
10. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. gobernar
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. 927
12. ^ 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. gobernar
13. ^ 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. 534
14. ^ Alcalá Venceslada, Antonio (1951), Vocabulario andaluz, Madrid: Real Academia Española, p. 300
15. ^ Maffiotte, Luis (1993), Los canarismos (manuscript c. 1887), ed. Lothar Siemens Hernández, Las Palmas: Instituto de Estudios Canarios, p. 79
16. ^ Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. gobernar
17. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. gobernar
18. ^ 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. gobernar
19. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. gobernar