padrino

Forms

padrino m (plural padrinos, feminine madrina, feminine plural madrinas)^[1] The feminine is madrina; a feminine padrina was used in the 17th century but Autoridades called it improper.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *patrīnus (“godfather”).^[2][3][4] Wiktionary gives the word as Medieval Latin patrīnus, attested from the 8th century.^[1] Corominas notes Late Latin patrinius (“stepfather”) in glosses and the feminine matrina (“godmother”) in the 6th century.^[2]

The same word is Portuguese padrinho, Galician padriño, Catalan padrí, Asturian padrín, Occitan pairin and Italian padrino;^[5][6] French parrain has another suffix.^[5][6][2] Corominas says it survives in all the western Romance languages, and the REW notes that in parts of Occitan and Aragonese it also meant “grandfather”.^[2][5]

Its base is from Latin pater (“father”), with the suffix -īnus.^[1][4][7] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”).^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, in a 14th-century copy) the Cid hands his daughters to Álvar Fáñez and asks him to be their padrino throughout the wedding vigil, the man who gives the brides away.^[9][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century the word also meant a protector in general: Berceo calls Saint Emilian de los pobres padrino, and the Poema de Fernán González says the neighbouring kingdoms will not be padrynos to the Castilians.^[9] Alfonso X's laws use it for the sponsor at confirmation.^[10] Nebrija distinguished the padrino de boda from the padrino de bautismo.^[11]

Covarrubias in 1611 named the godfather at baptism and confirmation, the sponsor at weddings and first Masses, and the second of a man in tournaments and duels; from this came apadrinar.^[12] Autoridades added the sponsor of a new university graduate or of a knight entering a military order.^[13] By 1884 the Academy gave the figurative sense of a person who protects and favours another.^[14] The DLE now also has the sense “head of a mafia organisation”.^[4] In bullfighting the padrino is the senior matador who confers the alternativa on a novice.^[1] In Puerto Rico it names the leader of a criminal gang.^[15]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses it for the sponsor at a wedding.^[9][3]
• c. 1236 – Berceo calls Saint Emilian de los pobres padrino.^[9]
• 1256–1300 – Alfonso X's laws use it for the sponsor at confirmation.^[10]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija distinguishes the wedding and the baptismal sponsor.^[11]
• 1542 – first record in the Americas, in Panama.^[16]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records the duelling sense and apadrinar.^[12]
• 1635 – the feminine padrina in Salas Barbadillo.^[2]
• 1737 – Autoridades adds the sponsors of graduates and knights.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A godfather: the man who presents and stands by a person being baptised and takes on certain duties towards him or her.^[4][1]
2. A man who accompanies a person receiving another sacrament, such as confirmation or marriage.^[4][1]
3. A man who presents and accompanies someone receiving an honour or degree: el padrino de la promoción.^[4]
4. A second: a man who supports someone's rights in a contest, tournament or duel.^[4][12]
5. A patron or protector, who may use his influence to help someone get something: Sin padrinos no consiguió el puesto.^[4][17]
6. The head of a mafia organisation.^[4]
7. (bullfighting) The senior matador who gives the alternativa to a novice.^[1]
8. (in the plural) The godfather and godmother together.^[4]

Word family

• apadrinar
• padrinazgo

Related words

• madrina
• padre
• ahijado
• padrón
• Latin pater
• French parrain

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 335
3. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. padre
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. padrino
5. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. patrinus
6. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4850
7. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 516
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. pater
9. ^ 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. padrino
10. ^ a b 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. padrino
11. ^ a b 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. padrino
12. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1183
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 76
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 773
15. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. padrino
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. padrino
17. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. padrino