llano

Forms

llano (feminine llana, masculine plural llanos, feminine plural llanas)^[1] A charter of 1081 writes flano, a hypercorrect spelling, and one of 1118 lano; the Cid has llano.^[2][3] Old texts also write llanno and xano.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin plānus (“level, flat”).^[2][5][1] Corominas calls it general in every period and common to all the Romance languages of the West.^[2] The learned doublet plano is first recorded in the early 17th century.^[2][3]

The same Latin word is Portuguese chão, Galician chan, Asturian llanu, Catalan pla, Occitan plan, French plain and Italian piano.^[6][7][1] The Italian word came into Spanish as piano, the musical instrument, and in the phrase pian piano, “slowly”.^[6]

The Latin adjective continues *plānos, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂-nós (“flattened”).^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is in the oldest documents: a charter of 1081 has it in the hypercorrect spelling flano, one of 1118 writes lano, and the Cantar de mio Cid has llano.^[2][3] Its first sense was “level, flat”, used for ground.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The noun, “a plain”, is first found in Berceo.^[2] In the 13th century the adjective already had figurative senses: in Alfonso X's prose laws should be llanas e paladinas, clear and plain, so that everyone can understand them.^[9] Covarrubias in 1611 explained that a hombre llano is one without pride or guile, and that confesar de plano is to confess everything at once.^[10] Corominas notes the sense “evident” in Tirso and Calderón.^[2]

The Autoridades of 1734 called a person llano who is affable and does not stand on his authority, quoting Cervantes.^[11] The Academy's dictionary of 1884 had the senses of a commoner, who does not enjoy a privileged fuero, and of a word stressed on the penultimate syllable.^[12] English took the noun in the 1610s for the treeless plains of South America, and later llanero, a plainsman, in 1819.^[13]

Timeline

• 1081 – the hypercorrect spelling flano in a charter.^[2][3]
• 1118 – lano in a charter.^[2]
• c. 1140 – llano in the Cantar de mio Cid.^[2]
• 1240 – the derivative allanar, in the Fuero Juzgo.^[2][3]
• 1256–1300 – Alfonso X's laws use it for plain, clear wording.^[9]
• 1490 – llanura, in Alonso de Palencia.^[2][3]
• 1515 – the first record from the Americas, in Tierra Firme.^[14]
• 1610s – English borrows llano for the plains of South America.^[13]
• 1611 – Covarrubias explains hombre llano.^[10]
• 1734 – the Autoridades gives the noun and the sense “affable”.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. flat, level, even, with no rises or hollows: Por aquí el camino es llano.^[5][1]
2. Of a person, approachable and unpretentious.^[5][15]
3. Plain, without ornament: una prosa llana.^[5][1]
4. clear, evident.^[5]
5. Easy, free of difficulty.^[5]
6. Without the privileges of a higher class, as in el pueblo llano, the common people.^[5][15]
7. (phonetics) Of a word, stressed on the penultimate syllable; paroxytone (grave).^[5][1]

Noun

1. A plain; level, open ground (llanura).^[1][11]
2. The landing of a staircase.^[16]
3. (Guatemala, Panama) Short grass covering a piece of ground; a lawn.^[17]
4. (Canary Islands) A fairly large terraced field or garden.^[18]

Word family

• llana
• llanada
• llanero
• llaneza
• llanura
• allanar
• rellano
• llanamente

Related words

• plan
• plano
• Latin plānus
• Portuguese chão
• English llano

Usage notes

Set phrases include a la llana, plainly, without ceremony, and de llano or de llano en llano, clearly and openly.^[5] Bénaben connects the sense “simple, affable” with the image of a surface without bumps, as in a la pata la llana.^[19]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 722
3. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. llano
4. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. llano
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. llano
6. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 5097
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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. ^ a b c 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. llano
10. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1096
11. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 420
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 656
13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ 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. llano
15. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. llano
16. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. llano
17. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. llano
18. ^ Academia Canaria de la Lengua (2010), Diccionario básico de canarismos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; online at https://www.academiacanarialengua.org, p. s.v. llano
19. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. llano