improvisar

Forms

improvisar (first-person singular present improviso, first-person singular preterite improvisé, past participle improvisado)^[1]

Etymology

It is a 19th-century loan, borrowed from French improviser.^[2][3][4][5] The French verb, recorded from 1642, was taken from Italian improvvisare, a derivative of improvviso (“unforeseen, sudden”), itself a loan from Latin improvīsus (“unforeseen”).^[6][7] The Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not”) and prōvīsus, the past participle of prōvideō (“to foresee”).^[8][9] Nocentini says that the Spanish family of words comes from the French one.^[7]

The Academy, from its 1884 edition on, and Wiktionary derive the verb instead from the Spanish adjective improviso with the verbal suffix -ar.^[10][11][1] Corominas lists the verb under ver, beside the adjective, and notes that it was still missing from the Academy's dictionary of 1832.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated example that Boyd-Bowman gives is from Cuba in 1839, of a man who knew verses by heart y cualquier cosa improvisaba “and could improvise on anything”.^[13] It thus first meant composing verse on the spot, the sense the word had in Italian and French;^[6] Vox says it was taken with the meaning “to sing or compose without preparation” and later widened.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The Academy first entered the verb in 1843, as doing something suddenly, without study or preparation, applied especially to speeches and poems.^[14][12] Domínguez (1846) added composing music on the spot with the voice or an instrument.^[15] The wider sense of making or arranging something quickly with whatever is at hand appears in the Americas from the 1850s: a Mexican text of 1854 speaks of improvised fortunes, and one of 1863 of fuerzas improvisadas “improvised forces”.^[13] Moliner gives both uses: performing a speech, poem or piece of music without preparing it, and making something one is not prepared for with the means available.^[16]

Timeline

• 1642 – French improviser is recorded.^[6]
• 1832 – still missing from the Academy's dictionary.^[12]
• 1839 – first dated example, from Cuba.^[13]
• 1843 – first in the Academy's dictionary.^[14]
• 1846 – Domínguez adds musical improvisation.^[15]
• 1884 – the Academy derives it from improviso.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To do or make something suddenly, without study or preparation, with whatever means are at hand: Con dos cajas improvisaron una mesa.^[11][16][1]
2. To compose or perform a speech, a poem or a piece of music on the spot, without having prepared it.^[2][16][15]

Word family

• improvisación
• improvisador

Related words

• improviso
• proveer
• ver
• French improviser
• Italian improvvisare

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. improvisar
3. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 361
4. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 376
5. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. improvisar
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. improviser
7. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. improvviso
8. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. imprōuīsus
10. ^ 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. 588
11. ^ a b 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. improvisar
12. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 713
13. ^ a b c 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. improvisar
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 402
15. ^ a b c Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 986
16. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. improvisar