intención

Forms

intención f (plural intenciones)^[1] Old Spanish wrote entención or entençion, with intençion, entinçion and intincion beside them.^[2][3] Intinción remained a popular form in many regions, and entención is still Asturian.^[3] Ladino has entision.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin intentiō (“a stretching; attention; purpose”), a learned word.^[3][5][6][1] Corominas counts it among the learned words of the family of tender.^[3]

The same Latin word gave Portuguese intenção and Galician intención; the Old Galician-Portuguese form was entençon.^[7][8][1] Nascentes calls the Portuguese word semi-learned.^[9]

intentiō is formed from Latin intendō (“to stretch, direct”) + -tiō, and intendō is in- with tendō (“to stretch”).^[10][1][11] De Vaan derives tendō from Proto-Indo-European *ten-d(h)- (“to stretch”).^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in the CDH is the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, known from a 14th-century copy): Non diga ninguno d'ella más una entención “let no one make any further plea about it”.^[13] García de Diego reads the word there as a plea made in court, and the Primera Crónica General uses it for a dispute.^[7] The first record without a later copy is the Fuero de Alcalá (c. 1235): whoever holds another's head under water per mala entención “with evil intent” pays twelve maravedís.^[13]

Semantic evolution

By the early 13th century the word meant purpose or disposition, as in buena entençión in the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca and in Berceo.^[13] Alfonso X's Lapidario has it for the aim of an argument: mas agora tornaremos a nuestra entencion “but now we shall return to our purpose”.^[14] Corominas dates the full sense to Juan Ruiz, and DICCA-XV reports his date as 1330–1343.^[3][15]

Autoridades defines it as the deliberate resolve of the will towards some end, and divides it into good and bad.^[16] The Academy's dictionary of 1899 adds the figurative sense of a vicious streak in some animals (toro de intención) and the phrases primera intención “frankness” and segunda intención “a hidden motive”.^[17] The modern dictionary keeps these and the religious sense of the intention for which a Mass or prayer is offered.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – entención in the Cantar de mio Cid (14th-century copy).^[13]
• c. 1235 – mala entención in the Fuero de Alcalá, the first record without a later copy.^[13]
• 1250–1279 – entencion in Alfonso X's Lapidario.^[14]
• 1330–1343 – Juan Ruiz, the first record for Corominas.^[3][15]
• 1518 – intinciones in the first record from the Americas, on the Tierra Firme coast.^[18]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades defines it as the deliberate resolve of the will.^[16]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary has primera intención and segunda intención.^[17]

Meanings

Noun

1. intention, purpose: the will's resolve to reach some end.^[6][1]
2. (religion) The person or good for which a prayer, Mass or other act of worship is offered.^[6]
3. A vicious streak in an animal, unusual in its kind: un toro de mucha intención.^[6]
4. Cautious forethought in speaking or acting.^[6]

Word family

• intencionado
• intencional

Related words

• tender
• intento
• intentar
• Latin intentiō
• Portuguese intenção

Usage notes

Primera intención is a frank, unreflecting way of acting, and segunda intención a double, underhand one.^[6][17]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. intención
3. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 459
4. ^ Nehama, Joseph (1977), Dictionnaire du judéo-espagnol, Madrid: CSIC, p. s.v. entision
5. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tender
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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. intención
7. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 3505
8. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. intenção
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. intenção
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. intentiō
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. intendō
12. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
13. ^ 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. intención
14. ^ 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. intención
15. ^ a b 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. intención
16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, s.v. intención
17. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 563
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. entinción