penetración

Forms

penetración f (plural penetraciones)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin penetrātiō (“the action of piercing, penetration”).^[2][1] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of penetrar, which is from the second quarter of the 15th century.^[3]

The same Latin word is Portuguese penetração, Catalan penetració, French pénétration and Italian penetrazione.^[1][4][5]

The Latin noun, found in Apuleius, is formed from penetrō (“to put or go into the interior”) with -tiō.^[6][1] The verb is from penes (“in the possession of”) or penitus (“deep within”), with the ending of intrō (“to enter”).^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Estéfano de Sevilla's Visita y consejo de médicos (before 1400), on helping the food to pass through the body in digestion.^[7] DICCA-XV dates its own first record to 1423.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the word belonged to medicine and natural philosophy: El Tostado (1437) speaks of the penetraçion de cuerpos, one body passing through another, which Aristotle excludes, and surgical texts of the penetration of a wound or of a medicine into the joints.^[7] The Diccionario de Autoridades added two figurative senses, the full understanding of a difficult matter and sharpness of mind.^[9] In the Americas the second appears in courtly style in 1757, in the Real Penetración of the king.^[10] Barcia recorded the depth to which a projectile goes into earth or wood.^[11] Later senses include the sexual one, penetración pacífica for economic and political influence over another country without force of arms, and in football and handball a player's run into the opponents' area.^[12][2][13]

Timeline

• before 1400 – first record, in a medical text of Estéfano de Sevilla.^[7]
• 1437 – El Tostado uses it of bodies passing through one another.^[7]
• 1591 – first record from the Americas, in Mexico City, of the subtlety and penetration of a vapour.^[10]
• 1737 – the Diccionario de Autoridades gives the senses “understanding” and “sharpness of mind”.^[9]
• 1899 – the Academy gives the etymology “Del lat. penetratio”.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. The action or effect of penetrating (penetrar): El tejado impide la penetración de la lluvia.^[2][1]
2. Full understanding (comprensión) of something difficult.^[2][12]
3. Perspicacity (perspicacia), sharpness of mind.^[2][13]
4. The insertion of the penis in sexual intercourse.^[12][15]
5. (sports) A run by an attacking player into the opponents' area.^[13]

Related words

• penetrante
• compenetración
• Latin penetrō

Usage notes

Penetración pacífica is the economic and political influence a nation exerts in another country without the use of force.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. penetración
3. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. penetrar
4. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. penetració
5. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. penetração
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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. penetración
8. ^ 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. penetración
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. s.v. penetración
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. penetración
11. ^ Barcia, Roque (1880–1883), Primer diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Tipográfico de Álvarez Hermanos, p. 164
12. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. penetración
13. ^ a b c Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. penetración
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 761
15. ^ Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. penetración