inteligible

Forms

inteligible m or f (masculine and feminine plural inteligibles)^[1] 15th- and 16th-century texts also write intelegible, jntelegible and entelegible.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin intelligibilis (“that can be understood”).^[4][5][6] The Latin adjective is formed on intellegō (“to understand”) with -bilis, and the verb comes from legō (“to gather, choose”).^[7][1][8] The spelling with ⟨e⟩ is the more classical one, but the variant with ⟨i⟩ prevailed in Late Latin.^[8] Medieval Latin also used the adjective for “intelligent, reasonable”.^[9][10]

Corominas dates the word to 1433.^[5][11] DICCA-XV has a record of 1417 and gives the CORDE's 1379–1384.^[5][11] The CDH also dates a hit in the Castigos, BNM ms. 6559, to 1293.^[2] The same Latin adjective gave Catalan intel·ligible, French intelligible and Italian intelligibile.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Heredia's translation of Plutarch (1379–1384) a satyr brought before Sulla apenas crido, no pas uoz inteligible “barely cried out, not in an intelligible voice”, but harshly, like a horse's neigh mixed with a goat's bleat.^[2] The Castigos, which the CDH dates to 1293, use it in the philosophical sense: every good is either sensible, of the senses, or ynteligible, of the understanding.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Both early senses survive: what can be understood by the mind alone, and a voice or sound that can be heard clearly.^[2][4] In the Americas the phrase a altas e inteligibles voces “in loud and intelligible voices” became the formula of public proclamations: Guatemala 1551, Yucatán 1561, Cuba 1574, Venezuela 1595.^[3] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as “what can be, or is easy to be, understood”, gave the sense of what is perceived by the outer senses (lo dixo con voz inteligible), and the philosophical especies inteligibles.^[13] The Academy's dictionaries of the 19th century kept these three senses, and Alemany's of 1917 has them in the order of the modern DLE.^[14][15][4]

Timeline

• 1293 – the date the CDH gives to the Castigos, BNM ms. 6559: ynteligible.^[2]
• 1379–1384 – inteligible in Heredia's translation of Plutarch.^[2]
• 1417 – jntelegible in Enrique de Villena's Los doze trabajos de Hércules;^[2][11] DICCA-XV's first date.^[2][11]
• 1433 – Corominas's date of first record.^[5]
• 1551 – first record from the Americas, in Guatemala City, in the formula of public proclamations.^[3]
• 1734 – the Diccionario de Autoridades gives the senses “understandable”, “clearly heard” and the philosophical one.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary first gives the etymology, Latin intelligibilis.^[16]

Meanings

Adjective

1. intelligible; that can be understood: un texto inteligible para cualquier lector.^[4][1]
2. (philosophy) Known by the intellect alone, without the senses.^[4]
3. Heard clearly and distinctly: La grabación apenas era inteligible.^[4]

Word family

• ininteligible

Related words

• inteligente
• inteligencia
• intelecto
• entender

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. inteligible
3. ^ 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. entelegible
4. ^ a b c d e f 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. inteligible
5. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. inteligente
6. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2014), Lexicón etimológico y semántico del latín y de las voces actuales que proceden de raíces latinas o griegas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 361
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 459
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
11. ^ a b c d 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. inteligible
12. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 864
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 288
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 412
15. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 958
16. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 603