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jugador

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word jugador

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1221 Fuero de Plasencia More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin jocor
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin iocus
French jeu
Italian gioco
Spanish juego
English joke
Latin iocor
French jouer
Spanish jugar
Spanish jugador
From the same root
English jeopardy ← iocus
Latin iocōsus ← iocus
English joker ← joke

Pronunciation

  • /xuɡaˈdoɾ/, [xu.ɣ̞aˈð̞oɾ], /ʃuɡaˈdoɾ/[1]

Forms

jugador m (plural jugadores, feminine jugadora, feminine plural jugadoras)[1] Old Spanish had iogador and iugador, as the verb was jogar or jugar.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish jugar + -dor.[1][5] The verb jugar continues Latin jocor (“to jest, joke”) (infinitive jocari); Old Spanish had jogar beside the modern form, and the form with u, general from the 15th century, is hard to explain.[5][4] The same formation is Portuguese jogador.[1][6] Tagalog borrowed the Spanish word as sugarol and hugador.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DEMel's first primary record is iugadores in the Fuero de Plasencia of 1221.[3] In Alfonso X's Libro de los juegos (1283) it is the player of a board game: el jogador que tiene los trebeios uerdes ha de iogar primero “the player with the green pieces moves first”.[2] In the Judizios de las estrellas (1254) it already means a gambler, beside the minstrel and the singer.[2]

Semantic evolution

Autoridades gives the three classical senses: one who plays, one with the vice of gambling, and one very skilful at play; it quotes Quevedo on the jugador “who by an ugly name is called a cardsharp”, and jugador de manos “juggler, conjurer”.[7] The Academy added the phrase el mejor jugador sin cartas for someone left out of the business he knows best (1817), and jugador de ventaja “cardsharp” (1884).[8][9] A text from Mexico City of 1564 calls a man a público jugador who plays forbidden card games.[10] The sense “player in a sport” is the commonest one today.[11][12] In Peru the word is also used of a person who has lovers besides his or her partner, and in Puerto Rico of a fighting cock with good tactics.[13][14]

Timeline

  • 1221 – iugadores in the Fuero de Plasencia.[3]
  • 1254 – iogador “gambler” in the Judizios de las estrellas.[2]
  • 1283 – jogador “player” in Alfonso X's book of games.[2]
  • 1513 – Nebrija gives the Latin collusor.[15]
  • 1564 – first record in the Americas, in Mexico City.[10]
  • 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades gives the player, the gambler and the skilled player, and jugador de manos.[7]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary adds jugador de ventaja.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A player, one who takes part in a game: Faltan dos jugadores para la partida de mus.[11][1]
  2. A player of a sport: jugador de baloncesto.[11][12]
  3. A gambler, one addicted to games of chance.[11][1][16]
  4. A very skilful player.[11]
  5. jugador de manos: a conjurer;[16] jugador de ventaja: a cardsharp.[11][16]
  6. (Peru, colloquial) A person who has lovers besides his or her partner.[13]
  7. (Puerto Rico) Of a fighting cock: skilful, with good tactics.[13][14]

Word family

  • exjugador

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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. jugador
  3. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. jugador
  4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 534
  5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. juego
  6. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. jogador
  7. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 328
  8. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 509
  9. ^ 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. 619
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ 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. jugador
  12. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. jugador
  13. ^ a b c Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. jugador
  14. ^ a b Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. jugador
  15. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 365
  16. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. jugador
Cite this entry

“Jugador.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/jugador. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·