majestad

Forms

majestad f (plural majestades)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin maiestas (“greatness, dignity, sovereignty”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun is related to maior (“greater”), the comparative of magnus (“great”): the Oxford Latin Dictionary analyses it as a stem ⟨maies-⟩ with the suffix -tās, and Wiktionary derives it from a Proto-Italic variant of the comparative.^[5][1] Corominas accordingly treats it in the family of mayor, the inherited word.^[3][4]

The learned word is Portuguese majestade, Galician maxestade, French majesté and Italian maestà.^[6][7][1] Old Spanish usually wrote ⟨magestad⟩ or ⟨magestat⟩.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH, in La fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), is in the concrete sense of an image of Christ: in Beirut ovo y una magestad de Christos “there was an image of Christ there”, which was pierced with a lance.^[9] Corominas records the word in Berceo, where it is applied to an image of the Virgin.^[3][4] Herman the German's translation of the Psalms (c. 1240–72) has it for the glory of God: la Tu Majestat.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the Estoria de España of Alfonso X (1270–84) Simon Magus boasts that he will show in himself la magestad de dios “the majesty of God”.^[10] As a title of emperors and kings it is common in the letters from the Americas from 1521, as Vuestra Cesárea Magestad and Su Magestad.^[11] Covarrubias (1611) calls it an imperial or royal title.^[12] The Academy's 1884 dictionary defines it as the quality that makes a thing grave and sublime and as the title given to God, emperors and kings, with Su Divina Majestad for God.^[13]

The adjective majestuoso dates from the 17th century; mayestático was modelled on German majestätisch and brought in by the Krausists at the end of the 19th century.^[3][4]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – La fazienda de Ultra Mar: una magestad de Christos, an image of Christ (in a 13th-century copy).^[9]
• 1220–50 – Berceo, the first record in the DCECH and the BDELC.^[3][4]
• 1270–84 – Alfonso X's Estoria de España: la magestad de dios.^[10]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin majestas.^[14]
• 1521 – first record from the Americas in Boyd-Bowman's corpus, from Puerto Rico: Vuestra Cesárea Magestad.^[11]
• 1611 – Covarrubias: an imperial or royal title.^[12]
• 17th century – the adjective majestuoso.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. majesty; greatness, superiority and authority over others.^[2][1]
2. gravity and dignity in bearing and actions; grandeur: la majestad de las montañas.^[2][15]
3. A title given to God and to emperors and kings, with Su or Vuestra: Su Majestad la Reina.^[2][15]

Word family

• majestuoso
• majestuosidad

Related words

• mayor
• mayestático
• Latin maiestas

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. majestad
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. 3, 890
4. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mayor
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. māiestās
6. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 2101
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. majesté
8. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. majestad
9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. majestad
10. ^ 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. majestad
11. ^ 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, p. s.v. majestad
12. ^ 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. 1, 1102
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 664
14. ^ 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. majestad
15. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. majestad