lechiga

Forms

lechiga f (plural lechigas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin lectīca (“litter, stretcher”).^[2][3][4][1] It is a relative of lecho “bed”, from lectus (“bed”), under which Corominas treats it.^[2][3] The same Latin word is Italian lettiga and Old Occitan lechiga.^[5][6]

The Latin noun is formed on that noun with the suffix -īca.^[7][1] De Vaan traces the noun for “bed” to Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).^[8][1] Medieval Latin already used the word for a bier, a bed and a coffin.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas's first record is a charter of Osma of 1228, in Menéndez Pidal's collection of linguistic documents;^[2][3][10] DEMel lists the plural lechigas in it.^[2][3][10]

Semantic evolution

Berceo and Juan Ruiz used the word, and Berceo also has the derivatives lechigado “bedridden” and lechigal “bed”.^[2] Nebrija defined it as the bier of the dead, lechiga de muertos, and by 1734 Autoridades knew it only from him.^[2][11] Percyvall in 1591 also glossed it as a bier for dead bodies.^[12] The Academy's dictionaries from 1843 to 2001 give both senses, the bier and the bed, as obsolete.^[13][4] The derivative lechigada “litter of young”, recorded from 1625, keeps the word alive.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1228 – a charter of Osma has lechigas.^[2][10]
• 13th century – Berceo uses lechiga and lechigado.^[2]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija has lechiga de muertos for Latin sandapila and pheretrum.^[2]
• 1591 – Percyvall glosses it as a bier.^[12]
• 1734 – Autoridades cites it only from Nebrija.^[11]
• 1843 – the Academy marks both senses as obsolete.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) A bier or andas for carrying the dead to burial; a coffin (féretro).^[4][1]
2. (obsolete) A bed or couch.^[4][14]

Word family

• lechigada

Related words

• lecho
• litera
• Latin lectīca
• Italian lettiga

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 616
3. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. lecho
4. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. lechiga
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4962
6. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 419
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. lechiga
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 375
12. ^ a b Percyvall, Richard (1591), Bibliothecae Hispanicae pars altera: containing a dictionarie in Spanish, English and Latine, London: John Jackson for Richard Watkins, p. 161
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 432
14. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. lechiga