igual

Forms

igual m or f (masculine and feminine plural iguales)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish egual, inherited from Latin aequālis (“of the same size or age; equal”), from aequus (“flat, smooth, even; equal”).^[2][3][4][1] egual is Berceo's usual form, but igual already occurs in some early manuscripts of his works and in 13th-century manuscripts of Alfonso X's astronomy.^[2] egual stayed in common use in the 14th and 15th centuries, in Juan Ruiz and the Rimado de Palacio, and the form with i- became general from Nebrija on.^[2] Old Spanish also had the verb eguar (“to make equal”), from aequāre.^[2]

The same word is Portuguese igual, Catalan igual, Occitan egal, French égal and Italian uguale, beside Old French ivel.^[5][1] Meyer-Lübke took Catalan igual for a Castilianism, while Corominas sees no reason for it.^[5][2] In his Catalan dictionary he notes that the Catalan form was avoided as vulgar in the Middle Ages, beside egual, and became widespread from about 1480.^[6] Judeo-Spanish has Ladino algal.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas finds the word first as equal in a charter of 1100 from Oelschläger's list.^[8] Berceo has both egual and igual.^[2][3] The earliest CDH hit is the Razón de amor (c. 1205–1250), describing a woman's nose: „naryz egual & dereyta” “a nose even and straight”.^[9] The Semejanza del mundo (c. 1223) has the i-form, of a sphere „toda ygual e rredonda” “all even and round”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's prose already uses the word for “equal in nature or quantity”, “level, smooth” and “constant, unchanging”, and as a noun for a person's equals.^[10] Covarrubias in 1611 recorded the proverb cada qual case con su igual “let everyone marry his equal”, and a use of igual for “better”.^[8] Autoridades defined it as matching another thing in quantity, quality or size, and also as “level, without slopes”.^[11] The 1884 edition added the equals sign of mathematics and the phrases al igual and de igual a igual.^[12]

The adverb “in the same way” is recorded in Venezuela in 1578: „la cebada igual” “and barley likewise”.^[13] Modern colloquial Spanish also uses igual for “perhaps”, and the sense “even so, anyway” is common in much of Latin America.^[4][14]

Timeline

• 1100 – the spelling equal in a charter.^[2][3]
• c. 1205–1250 – the Razón de amor has egual “even”.^[9]
• c. 1223 – the Semejanza del mundo has the form ygual.^[9]
• 1228–1246 – Berceo uses egual and occasionally igual.^[2][9]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario uses egual for “level, smooth”.^[10]
• c. 1495 – from Nebrija on, igual replaces egual.^[2]
• 1578 – the adverb “likewise”, in Venezuela.^[13]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records cada qual case con su igual.^[8]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary adds the equals sign.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. equal, the same in some or every respect.^[4][1]
2. Of a surface, level or even: un camino igual.^[4][1]
3. Very like, similar: Nunca he oído nada igual.^[4]
4. Proportionate, in due relation.^[4]
5. constant, unchanging: un carácter siempre igual.^[4]
6. Of the same value or worth: A ella le da igual.^[4]
7. (geometry) Of a figure, able to be superimposed on another so that they coincide.^[4]

Noun

1. A person of the same class or condition, an equal: Lo trató como a un igual.^[4][1]
2. (mathematics) The equals sign (=).^[4][1]

Adverb

1. In the same way, just like.^[4][1]
2. Even so, anyway: Aunque haga frío, igual vamos a la playa.^[4][1][14]
3. (colloquial) Perhaps, maybe.^[4]

Word family

• igualar
• iguala
• igualdad
• igualado
• igualmente
• desigual
• igualitario

Related words

• ecuador
• equi-
• equilibrio
• equivalente
• ecuación
• equidad
• adecuar
• inicuo
• Latin aequālis
• Portuguese igual

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include al igual que “just as” and sin igual “unequalled”.^[4][11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 438
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. igual
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. igual
5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. aequalis
6. ^ 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, 830
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 223
8. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1036
9. ^ 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. igual
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. igual
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 208
12. ^ 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. 584
13. ^ 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. igual
14. ^ 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. igual