guirnalda

Forms

guirnalda f (plural guirnaldas)^[1] Old Spanish had guerlanda (1288, Libros del Acedrex), guirlanda (about 1300 and still in Palencia in 1490) and guirnalda from about 1400;^[2] garlanda, the Catalan and Gallo-Romance form, occurs in Aragonese inventories of 1330 and 1403.^[2] The DEMel also lists the spellings gujnaldas, gurnaldas and guinardas.^[3]

Etymology

It continues inherited from Old Spanish guirlanda with metathesis of /l/ and /n/.^[4][5][1] Corominas thinks the word was probably borrowed from Old French garlande, which was reshaped as guirlanda in Occitan under the influence of native words and passed from there into Spanish.^[2][5] DICCA-XV likewise has it from Occitan, and that from Old French.^[6] The same word of uncertain origin is Portuguese grinalda, Catalan garlanda, Occitan garlanda and Italian ghirlanda; the dates would allow it to have spread from France, but Corominas does not consider that proven.^[2] French guirlande replaced the older French form in the 16th century under the influence of the Italian word.^[2][7]

The origin of the French word is disputed.^[2][1][7] Corominas proposes Frankish *warnjanda, perhaps already reduced to *warnanda, and in the Breve diccionario a Germanic derivative of the root of garnir (“to equip, adorn”).^[2][5] Wiktionary derives it from *wierlōn, a frequentative of *wierōn (“to adorn, bedeck”), from *wiera (“gold thread”), akin to Old High German wieren (“to adorn”), wiara and the English word wire.^[1] The DHLF starts from *wēra, a jewel worn on the head like a diadem, which later split into *weara and *wiara.^[7] Corominas rejects Diez's similar Germanic proposal, since no Romance verb of that shape is known.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest records are in the histories of Alfonso X. The first part of the General Estoria (c. 1275) says of Pan that he wore en la cabeça una guirlanda de pino “on his head a garland of pine”.^[8][3] The same work uses it for a crown of gold made for the high priest.^[9] Corominas's first record is guerlanda in the Libros del Acedrex of 1288.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The modern form guirnalda appears about 1400 in the glossaries of the Escorial and of Toledo and in the Corbacho of 1438, and took over from guirlanda in the 16th century.^[2][5] Nebrija glossed it with Latin serta.^[6] Covarrubias explained the word as girinalda, from girar “to turn”, because it goes round the head.^[10] The Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as an open crown woven of flowers and fragrant herbs, quotes the Quijote (guirnaldas de jazmínes, rosas, amarantho y madre selva), and adds two technical senses: in war a tarred torch in the shape of a garland, thrown lit to show up workers at night, and at sea a padded ring of plaited rope that protects a boat.^[11] In the Americas the word is recorded from 1541 in Michoacán, for a priest's headband of thread.^[12] The Academy's dictionary of 1899 added the sense “globe amaranth”, a plant also called perpetua.^[13] Today the usual sense is a festoon or wreath of flowers or leaves used as decoration.^[14][4]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – Alfonso X's General Estoria uses guirlanda for a crown of leaves.^[8][3]
• 1288 – guerlanda in the Libros del Acedrex, Corominas's first record.^[2]
• c. 1400 – the metathesised form guirnalda in the glossaries of the Escorial and Toledo.^[2][5]
• 1438 – guirnalda in the Corbacho.^[2]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija glosses it with Latin serta.^[6]
• 1541 – first record from the Americas, in Michoacán.^[12]
• 1611 – Covarrubias explains it from girar.^[10]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary adds the plant sense.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A garland or wreath: an open crown woven of flowers, herbs or branches, worn round the head.^[4][1]
2. A strip woven of flowers and branches, used as decoration; a festoon: Colgaron guirnaldas de papel en el patio.^[4][14]
3. globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), the same as perpetua.^[4][1]
4. (historical) A coarse woollen cloth formerly made.^[4][14]
5. (nautical) A kind of sailor's knot.^[4]
6. (military, historical) A tarred ring shaped like a garland, thrown burning from a fortress to reveal the enemy at night.^[4][11]

Word family

• enguirnaldar

Related words

• French guirlande
• Italian ghirlanda
• English garland

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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, 272
3. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. guirnalda
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. guirnalda
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. guirnalda
6. ^ a b c 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. guirnalda
7. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. guirlande
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. guirnalda
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. guirnalda
10. ^ 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. 952
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. s.v. guirnalda
12. ^ 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. guirnalda
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 510
14. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. guirnalda