oportuno

Forms

oportuno (feminine oportuna, masculine plural oportunos, feminine plural oportunas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin opportūnus (“well placed; convenient, opportune”), a learned word that Corominas first records in Juan de Mena, about 1440.^[2][3][4][1] He explains the Latin adjective as properly a sailors' term for the wind that carries a ship into harbour.^[2][3] The OLD analyses it as probably ob- (“towards”) with portus (“harbour”) and a suffix -ūnus, notes that Festus already called it a nautical word, and compares importūnus.^[5] Gómez de Silva gives the same analysis, with the implied original sense “(wind) blowing towards the harbour”.^[6]

Spanish puerto continues the same Latin noun.^[2][7] The Latin adjective was also borrowed as Portuguese oportuno, Catalan oportú, French opportun and Italian opportuno.^{[1][8][9][10]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The Old Spanish Textual Archive has the word first in a manuscript of Juan Fernández de Heredia's Crónica de los conqueridores (1376–1396).^[11] Corominas's first record is Juan de Mena, about 1440, in the sense “coming at the right time, fitting”.^[2][3] Nebrija's dictionary glosses it cosa con sazón “a thing in its season”.^[12][2]

Semantic evolution

Autoridades defined it as something done or happening at the right time, when it was convenient, and quoted a sea “less opportune for navigation” and the silent fields as an instrument mui oportúno, y acomodado para la contemplación “very fitting and suited to contemplation”.^[13] Domínguez added the use for a person who always has a witty or apt remark at hand,^[14] and the Academy now gives “quick and witty in conversation” as its second sense.^[4] Moliner notes that in future and conditional sentences it expresses advisability or need.^[15]

The noun oportunidad is recorded from 1438, in the Corbacho.^[2][3] Corominas remarks that in Latin America it is overused at the expense of ocasión, perhaps under English influence.^[2] The word reached the Americas early: a Mexico City text of 1583 praises the captain's eloquente y oportuna habla “eloquent and timely speech”.^[16]

Timeline

• 1376–1396 – a manuscript of Juan Fernández de Heredia's Crónica de los conqueridores has the word.^[11]
• c. 1440 – Juan de Mena uses it, the first record in Corominas.^[2][3]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija glosses it cosa con sazón.^[12]
• 1583 – first record from the Americas, in Mexico City.^[16]
• 1817 – the Academy defines it as done or happening at the right moment.^[17]
• 1846–1847 – Domínguez adds the sense “ready with witty remarks” of a person.^[14]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology from Latin opportunus.^[18]

Meanings

Adjective

1. opportune, timely: done or happening at the right moment, when it is convenient: Su visita fue muy oportuna.^[4][15][1]
2. Of a moment, place or occasion: suitable, appropriate for something.^[15][7][1]
3. In future and conditional sentences: advisable, called for: Sería oportuno avisar a su familia.^[15]
4. Of a person: quick and witty in conversation.^[4][15]

Word family

• oportunismo
• oportunista

Related words

• importuno
• inoportuno
• oportunidad
• puerto
• Latin opportūnus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 682
3. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. puerto
4. ^ 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. oportuno
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México
7. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. oportuno
8. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. oportú
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. oportuno
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b 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
12. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 390
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 43
14. ^ 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, 1291
15. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. oportuno
16. ^ 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. oportuno
17. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 617
18. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 761