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movimiento

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word movimiento

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1223 Semejanza del mundo More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin moveō

Pronunciation

  • /mobiˈmjento/, [mo.β̞iˈmjẽn̪.t̪o][1]

Forms

movimiento m (plural movimientos)[1] Old Spanish wrote mouimiento and movimiento; the forms mouemiento (1250) and mouemento (1259) also occur.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish mover + -miento, perhaps partly after Medieval Latin mōvimentum.[1][5][6][7] mover continues Latin moveō (“to move”),[7] which de Vaan derives from Proto-Indo-European *m(i̯)euh₁- (“to move”).[8] The same Latin verb gave momento, through mōmentum.[8][1]

Parallel nouns are Portuguese movimento, Galician movemento, Asturian movimientu, Catalan moviment, French mouvement and Italian movimento.[1][9][10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first record is the Semejanza del mundo (c. 1223), which explains that the winds are called waves of the air por que se faze del moujmjento del ayre “because it is made by the movement of the air”.[3] The DCECH and the BDELC date the word about 1250, in the Setenario.[7][12]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's prose the word is used of motion of every kind, including the daily movement of the heavens (movimiento diurno, 1277), of disturbance of the mind (1280), and of a rising of enemies against the king (1259).[4] In the Quijote los primeros movimientos are the first stirrings of emotion, which the moralists held to be beyond a man's control.[13]

The Diccionario de Autoridades has the act of moving, unrest or commotion, the first impulse of a passion such as jealousy, anger or laughter, and in music the speed with which the voice follows the beat; it also lists terms of statics and fencing.[14] The Academy added the orator's outburst and the physical state of a body changing place in 1869, and in 1884 variety and liveliness of style.[15][5] About 1900 the Chilean Román asked for a sense covering the changes in the life of a community recorded in statistics, which the DLE now has.[16][17] The DLE also gives the development and spread of an innovative religious, political, social or artistic tendency, and in music each section of a sonata or symphony.[17]

Timeline

  • c. 1223 – the first record, in the Semejanza del mundo.[3]
  • c. 1250 – the Setenario, the first record in the DCECH and the BDELC.[7][12]
  • 1259 – mouemento “rising” against the king.[4]
  • 1277 – movimiento diurno in Alfonso X's astronomical works.[4]
  • 1583 – the first record from the Americas, in Mexico City.[18]
  • 1611 – Covarrubias defines it as the act of moving.[19]
  • 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades adds the musical sense and terms of statics and fencing.[14]
  • 1869 – the Academy adds the physical state of a body in motion.[15]
  • 1884 – the Academy adds liveliness of style and derives the word from mover.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The action and effect of moving; movement, motion.[17][1]
  2. The state of a body while it changes place or position: El tren ya estaba en movimiento.[17][20]
  3. Agitation, unrest, commotion; also the bustle of people in a place: Los domingos hay poco movimiento en el puerto.[17][21]
  4. An uprising, rebellion.[17][20]
  5. The first stirring of a feeling or passion, such as jealousy, laughter or anger.[17]
  6. The development and spread of an innovative religious, political, social or artistic tendency: el movimiento obrero.[17][1]
  7. The changes in a field of human activity over a period of time.[17]
  8. Variety and liveliness of style in a poem or other writing.[17]
  9. (art) Freedom from stiffness in the arrangement of a painting, drawing or sculpture.[17]
  10. (commerce, statistics) A numerical change in an account or figure over a given time;[17][21][1] (banking) a transaction: los movimientos de la cuenta.[17][21][1]
  11. (fencing) A quick change in the position of the weapon.[17]
  12. (music) The tempo of the beat; each section of a sonata, symphony or similar work.[17][1]

Usage notes

The Quijote's los primeros movimientos no son en mano del hombre “first impulses are not in a man's power” is a saying of the Christian moralists.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. movimiento
  3. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE
  4. ^ a b c d 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. movimiento
  5. ^ 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. 722
  6. ^ 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. movimiento
  7. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 169
  8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. movimento
  10. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. moviment
  11. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. movimientu
  12. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. mover
  13. ^ a b Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 770
  14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 619
  15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 524
  16. ^ Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 559
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. movimiento
  18. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies
  19. ^ Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1151
  20. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial
  21. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos
Cite this entry

“Movimiento.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/movimiento. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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