pata

Forms

pata f (plural patas)^[1]

Etymology

It continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), a word found in Spanish, Portuguese and French and of uncertain origin;^[1][2] Corominas thinks it probably imitates the sound of stamping and pawing the ground.^[3][4][1][2] The DHLF and Bénaben also explain French patte by an imitative root for the sound of things striking each other.^[5][6] The Frankish explanation, which Wiktionary gives for the French word, derives it from Frankish *patta (“sole of the foot”);^[1][7] García de Diego reports it from Gamillscheg and himself prefers a link with Latin pēs (“foot”).^[1][7]

The word is common to Spanish, Portuguese pata and French, but foreign to most other Romance languages, which use words such as Italian zampa, Occitan pauta and Catalan pota.^[3] The type of the last two also existed in Old French poe (whence English paw) and in Old Galician-Portuguese pouta (“claw”).^[3] Corominas finds evidence that the word existed from the beginnings of the language: páta-lóbo (“wolf's paw”) is a plant name in a Mozarabic text written in Córdoba in 982, and the derivative patada is in Juan Ruiz.^[3][4]

Covarrubias (1611) traced the word to Ancient Greek πατέω (patéō, “to tread”), the verb Autoridades quotes in the infinitive; the Academy's dictionary of 1884 also gave a Greek etymology.^[8][9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first record is in the Moamín (1250, in a copy of the second half of the 13th century), a treatise on hunting birds, which lists the feet of camels among the foods for them: o las patas de los camellos.^[11][12] The BDELC and the DCECH give Nebrija (c. 1495) as the first record, with the Mozarabic plant name of 982.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija defines it as the sole of the foot and distinguishes the cloven hoof and the hoof with many toes.^[3][13] Autoridades (1737) gives the foot and leg of animals and notes that it is said less politely of people.^[9] Many phrases and figurative senses grew from it: a pata llana “without affectation” is recorded about 1600, and Pedro Espinosa called a la pata la llana vulgar in 1625.^[3] Tailors called the flap of a pocket pata.^[9] Pata de gallo, the wrinkle at the corner of the eye, is in the Academy's dictionary by 1869.^[14]

The DLE adds the leg of a piece of furniture, the human leg (colloquial) and the sense “friend” in Bolivia, Cuba and Peru.^[15][16] In Ecuador it is also a group of friends, and in the Dominican Republic a stage or leg of a journey or competition.^[16][17]

Timeline

• 982 – the Mozarabic plant name páta-lóbo in a text written in Córdoba.^[3][4]
• 1250 – first record in a Spanish text, the Moamín.^[11]
• 1330–1343 – Juan Ruiz uses the derivative patada.^[3][18]
• 1346 – a place name la Pata Dansar in a deed of sale.^[11]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija: pata o planta de pie.^[3]
• 1551 – the earliest record from the Americas, in Santo Domingo, for a bird's webbed foot.^[19]
• c. 1600 – a pata llana “without affectation”.^[3]
• 1611 – Covarrubias derives it from Greek.^[8]
• 1737 – Autoridades records the tailors' sense, the flap of a pocket.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The paw, foot and leg of an animal: El perro se hizo daño en una pata.^[15][1]
2. The leg of a piece of furniture.^[15][1]
3. A flap on a garment, such as a pocket flap.^[15][1]
4. (colloquial) A person's leg or foot.^[15][1]
5. (Bolivia, Cuba, Peru, Chile; colloquial) A close friend, mate.^[15][16]
6. The kickstand of a bicycle or motorcycle.^[1]
7. (Dominican Republic) A stage or leg of a journey or competition.^[17]

Word family

• patada
• patalear
• patán
• patear
• pateta
• patojo
• patudo
• patoso
• despatarrar
• pataleta
• patilla

Related words

• patrulla
• Portuguese pata
• French patte

Usage notes

Common phrases are meter la pata “to put one's foot in it”, mala pata “bad luck”, patas arriba “upside down; in disorder” and a la pata coja “hopping on one foot”.^[15][1] A separate word pata, from Italian patta (“draw, tie”), means a draw in games, as in salir, ser or quedar pata “to come out even”;^[20][21][22] Corominas derives the Italian word from Latin pacta, plural of pactum “agreement”, and connects Spanish empatar with it.^[20][21][22] Earlier Academy dictionaries also gave pata as the female duck, which the DLE now treats under pato.^[10][23]

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 Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6301
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 423
4. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. pata
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. patte
6. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. pata
7. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4853
8. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1, 1198
9. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 160
10. ^ 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. 799
11. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. pata
12. ^ 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. pata
13. ^ 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. pata
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 581
15. ^ a b c d e f g 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. pata
16. ^ 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. pata
17. ^ 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. pata
18. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. pata
19. ^ 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. pata
20. ^ 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. pata2
21. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4732
22. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 573
23. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. pata