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normalidad

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word normalidad

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1844 Nicomedes Pastor Díaz, Discurso sobre la reforma de la constitución de 1837 More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Latin norma

Pronunciation

  • /noɾmaliˈdad/, [noɾ.ma.liˈð̞að̞][1]

Forms

normalidad f (countable and uncountable, plural normalidades)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish normal + -idad.[1][2] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of normal, which is first recorded in 1555, itself from norma, taken from Latin norma in 1616.[3] The 19th-century dictionaries of Barcia and Echegaray compare French normalité.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in the CDH is a speech of 1844 by Nicomedes Pastor Díaz on the reform of the constitution of 1837, which speaks of the “normality” of anarchy, the word set between quotation marks as a new one: la «normalidad» de la anarquía.[6]

Semantic evolution

In the 1860s and 1870s the word appears in mathematics, anatomy, geology and medicine, for the regular state of a thing, the normal course of the blood or the undisturbed position of rock strata.[6] Domínguez (1846–1847) was the first dictionary to list it, as the quality or nature of what is normal.[7] Barcia labelled it a learned word.[4] Garzón recorded the political sense “normal state of things” in Argentina, with quotations from 1902 and 1906, and Boyd-Bowman's first American record, from Colombia in 1921, notes that volver a la normalidad meant a return to the usual calm.[8][9] The DLE now also lists nueva normalidad, the changed way of life after a crisis such as a pandemic.[10] In chemistry it names the concentration of a solution in gram equivalents per litre.[11]

Timeline

  • 1844 – first record, in a speech by Nicomedes Pastor Díaz.[6]
  • 1846–1847 – Domínguez's dictionary lists the word.[7]
  • 1872 – Vilanova y Piera uses it of undisturbed rock strata in his Compendio de Geología.[6]
  • 1910 – Garzón records the sense “normal state of a country” in Argentina.[8]
  • 1917 – Alemany defines it as the quality of being normal.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. normality, the quality or condition of being normal.[10][1]
  2. A normal state of affairs, without disturbance: Tras la huelga, la fábrica recuperó la normalidad.[13][10]
  3. (chemistry) The number of gram equivalents of a solute in a litre of solution.[11]
  • normalizar
  • enorme
  • French normalité

Usage notes

Volver a la normalidad “to return to normal” is the usual phrase;[14] nueva normalidad “new normal” is a recent addition to the DLE.[10][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. norma
  4. ^ a b Barcia, Roque (1880–1883), Primer diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Álvarez Hermanos, p. 938
  5. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 510
  6. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. normalidad
  7. ^ a b 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, 1261
  8. ^ a b Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 327
  9. ^ 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. normalidad
  10. ^ 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. normalidad
  11. ^ a b Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. normalidad
  12. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1201
  13. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. normalidad
  14. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 87
Cite this entry

“Normalidad.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/normalidad. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·