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partido

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word partido

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1417 More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin pars
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Spanish partir
Spanish partido
From the same root
Spanish partida ← partir

Pronunciation

  • /paɾˈtido/, [paɾˈt̪i.ð̞o][1]

Forms

partido m (plural partidos)[1]

Etymology

It is from Spanish partir (“to divide”): the past participle of the verb, used as an adjective and as a noun.[2][1][3][4] The Academy's dictionary from 1884 to 1917 derived it from Latin partītus, the participle of partior (“to share, divide”).[5][6] Gómez de Silva explains the political party from the sense “group of people forming one of the parts”, as in a contest, and Bénaben as a party that represents one part of the political forces.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DICCA-XV's first record of the noun is of 1417; it reports an earlier hit of 1379–1384 in the CORDE, while Corominas dates the word 1495.[8][4] Nebrija's equivalent is Latin conditio “condition, terms”, and the Lexicon of 1492 pairs it with lei “law”.[9][8] In 1518 in Santo Domingo a man goes to Puerto Rico a partido “on terms” that he would give the King half of what he earned.[10]

Semantic evolution

From “terms, agreement” the noun took the senses of the Diccionario de Autoridades: a faction of people who follow one opinion or interest, the favour or support of many, a team of players, and the advantage given to a weaker player.[11] The Academy added the advantage got from something (sacar partido) in 1817, and by 1869 the course of action chosen in a difficulty and the district of a jurisdiction.[12][13] Domínguez in 1846 already describes the political party of opinions and interests, with its espíritu de partido.[14]

Salvá in 1846 records a match for marriage (ha tenido muy buenos partidos), which Baralt in 1855 condemned as a Gallicism, though he accepted sacar partido and tomar partido.[15][16] The sense is current in Mexico and Chile.[17] The sports match is the newest main sense.[2][18]

In the Americas partido is the parting of the hair in Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, Argentina and the Dominican Republic, and a partido is a sharecropping arrangement in Cuba and Argentina.[19][20][21][22][23] In Argentina it is an administrative division, and in the Canaries a group of breeders of fighting cocks.[23][24][25] Tagalog borrowed it as partido.[1]

Timeline

  • 1417 – DICCA-XV's first record of the noun; it reports an earlier CORDE hit of 1379–1384.[8]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija glosses partido por condición as Latin conditio.[9]
  • 1518 – the first record from the Americas, a partido “on terms”, in Santo Domingo.[10]
  • 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines the faction, favour, team and handicap.[11]
  • 1817 – the Academy's dictionary adds sacar partido.[12]
  • 1846 – Salvá records the sense “match for marriage”.[15]
  • 1855 – Baralt condemns es un buen partido as a Gallicism.[16]
  • 1884 – the Academy's dictionary derives it from Latin partitus.[5]
  • 1923 – first record of the derivative partidista.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A party: a group of people who follow and defend the same opinion or cause, especially a political party: El partido presentó a su candidata en marzo.[2][1][26]
  2. A match or game between two players or two teams in certain sports: Vimos el partido en un bar del centro.[2][1]
  3. Profit, advantage: sacar partido de algo “to make the most of something”.[2][1]
  4. Support, favour or protection that someone enjoys.[2][26]
  5. In a game, a group of players playing together against another; also the handicap given to the weaker player.[2][26]
  6. A course of action taken to achieve something;[2][26] tomar partido “to take sides, make up one's mind”.[2][26]
  7. A district of a jurisdiction or administration with a chief town, as the partido judicial; in Argentina, a subdivision of the province of Buenos Aires.[2][1][18]
  8. The district a doctor is bound to serve for a salary.[2][26]
  9. A desirable person to marry: Su novio es un buen partido.[17][15]
  10. (Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, Argentina, Dominican Republic) The parting of the hair.[19][20][21][1]
  11. (Andalusia) A flat or room in a tenement house.[2][26]

Adjective

  1. Divided, split, broken;[2][1] (heraldry) of a shield or charge, divided vertically into two equal parts, per pale.[2][1]
  2. Of a working day or timetable, split into two parts: jornada partida.[2]
  3. (obsolete) Generous, sharing what one has with others.[2][27]
  4. (Cuba, colloquial) hungry.[2][19]

Word family

  • partidario
  • partidismo
  • partidista

Usage notes

Partido is also the past participle of partir (el tren ha partido).[1][2] The old phrase mujer del partido meant a prostitute.[17][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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. partido
  3. ^ a b Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 527
  4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. parte
  5. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 794
  6. ^ a b Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1270
  7. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. partido
  8. ^ a b c 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. partido
  9. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 393
  10. ^ 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. partido
  11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 141
  12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 642
  13. ^ Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 577
  14. ^ 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, 1338
  15. ^ a b c Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 805
  16. ^ a b Baralt, Rafael María (1855), Diccionario de galicismos, Madrid: Imprenta de J. Cruzado, p. 499
  17. ^ a b c Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959), Diccionario de mejicanismos, México: Porrúa, p. 808
  18. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. partido
  19. ^ a b c Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. partido
  20. ^ a b Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 357
  21. ^ a b Academia Dominicana de la Lengua; Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (2024), Diccionario del español dominicano, 2nd ed., online at https://ded.igalex.org, p. s.v. partido
  22. ^ Ortiz, Fernando (1923), Un catauro de cubanismos: apuntes lexicográficos, La Habana, p. 103
  23. ^ a b Bayo, Ciro (1910), Vocabulario criollo-español sud-americano, Madrid: Hernando, p. 168
  24. ^ Academia Canaria de la Lengua (2010), Diccionario básico de canarismos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; online at https://www.academiacanarialengua.org, p. s.v. partido
  25. ^ Real Academia Española (2021–), Tesoro de los diccionarios históricos de la lengua española (TDHLE): Diccionario histórico (1933–1936), its unpublished slips, Diccionario histórico (1960–1996), DHECan, DHECR, DHEVen, https://www.rae.es/tdhle, p. s.v. partido
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. partido
  27. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 535
Cite this entry

“Partido.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/partido. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·