modulación

Forms

modulación f (plural modulaciones)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin modulātiō (“rhythmical measure, melody”).^[2][1][3] The DLE, Wiktionary and Segura derive it straight from the Latin noun;^[1] Corominas lists it under modo with a date of about 1440.^[2][1][4][5] The Latin noun is formed from modulor (“to regulate sounds, to measure”) with -tio.^[6][7] The verb comes from modulus (“a small measure”), a diminutive of modus (“measure, manner”).^[1][6]

The same Latin word gave Portuguese modulação, Catalan modulació, French modulation and Italian modulazione.^{[8][9][10][1]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first hit is Enrique de Villena's translation and commentary of the Aeneid (1427–1428, in a manuscript of 1442): the hearing, dulled by a disordered life, can no longer tell armónicas modulaçiones “harmonious melodies” apart.^[11] In the 1440s the Marquis of Santillana used it of song and of the sound of water and birds.^[11]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the word meant melody or the sweet inflection of song.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as the softness, harmony and variety of the voice in singing.^[12] The Academy's 1884 edition gave the musical senses, the passage from one key to another and the voice's ease in changing key.^[13] From 1899 it defined it simply as the action and effect of modular.^[14] Today it also has a sense in electronics and telecommunications, the change in the frequency or amplitude of a wave to carry a signal.^[4][15][2]

Timeline

• 1427–1428 – first hit, in Enrique de Villena's Aeneid.^[11]
• c. 1440 – Corominas's and Segura's date.^[5][4]
• 1438–1455 – the Marquis of Santillana uses it in the Sonetos al itálico modo.^[11]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as harmony and variety of the voice in song.^[12]
• 1816 – first record from the Americas, in Mexico, of the modulation of a reader's voice.^[16]
• 1884 – the Academy defines the musical passage from one key to another.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act and effect of modular: modulation.^[2][1]
2. (music) A change from one key to another.^[13][4]
3. A harmonious variation of the tone of the voice in speech or song: Habla con una modulación muy agradable.^[17][12]
4. (telecommunications) A change in the amplitude, frequency or phase of a carrier wave according to a signal, as in modulación de frecuencia “frequency modulation”.^[2][4]

Related words

• módulo
• modo
• molde
• Latin modulatio

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. modulación
3. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e Segura Munguía, Santiago (2014), Lexicón etimológico y semántico del latín y de las voces actuales que proceden de raíces latinas o griegas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 450
5. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. modo
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 384
9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. modulação
10. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. modulació
11. ^ 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. modulación
12. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4
13. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 711
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 666
15. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. modulación
16. ^ 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. modulación
17. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. modulación