neutralidad

Forms

neutralidad f (plural neutralidades)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish neutral + -idad.^[1][2] Terreros in 1786 gave Medieval Latin neutralitas among its Latin equivalents, beside French neutralité and Italian neutralità.^[3]

The adjective neutral (1490) is from Latin neutrālis, from neuter (“neither of the two”), itself from ne- (“not”) and uter (“which of the two”).^[4][5][1] The grammatical sense of the Latin word is a semantic loan from the Koine word οὐδέτερος (oudéteros).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in a medical text, the Spanish translation of Gordonio's Libro de las pronósticas (1495), for a state between health and disease: sería neutralidad, ni bien sano ni bien enfermo “it would be neutrality, neither quite healthy nor quite sick”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The political sense, the position of a state or ruler that takes neither side, appears in a document of 1526 about the neutrality Margaret of Austria kept with the French king, and Zurita's Anales (1579) speak of keeping neutralidad e indiferencia.^[6] Corominas dates the word only to about 1640.^[4] The Autoridades of 1734 defined it as indifference or indecision between two extremes, quoting Saavedra Fajardo.^[8]

In 1846 Salvá added the state of a power that takes no part in a war between two nations, and Domínguez noted that it is used chiefly of nations.^[9][10] Barcia recorded neutralidad armada, the neutrality of a state that keeps troops ready to defend its territory and rights.^[11] From 1869 the Academy defined it simply as the condition or quality of being neutral.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 1495 – a translation of Gordonio uses it for a state between health and disease.^[6]
• 1526 – first political use, of a ruler's neutrality towards the French king.^[6]
• 1579 – Zurita's Anales de la corona de Aragón have guardando neutralidad.^[6]
• c. 1640 – the date of first record in Corominas.^[4]
• 1711 – first record from the Americas, in Nueva Vizcaya.^[14]
• 1734 – the Autoridades defines it as indifference between two extremes.^[8]
• 1846 – Salvá adds the sense of a power that stays out of a war.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. neutrality: the quality or attitude of being neutral, of taking neither side in a dispute: El árbitro mantuvo su neutralidad durante todo el partido.^[13][1][15]
2. (politics) The position of a country that takes no part in a war between others.^[9][16]

Related words

• neutro
• neutralizar
• Latin neuter

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 490
3. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 2, 662
4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. neutro
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. neuter
6. ^ 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. neutralidad
7. ^ Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org, p. s.v. neutralidad
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 664
9. ^ a b c Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 749
10. ^ Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 2, 1253
11. ^ Barcia, Roque (1880–1883), Primer diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Álvarez Hermanos, p. 918
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 536
13. ^ a b 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. neutralidad
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. neutralidad
15. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. neutralidad
16. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. neutralidad