peor

Forms

peor (the same form for both genders; plural peores)^[1][2] Old Spanish also wrote peior, as in the Liber Regum and Berceo, and peyor in Aragonese texts;^[3][4][5] Juan Ruiz has pior.^[3][4][5] Pior is Aragonese and popular Castilian today, and Ribagorzan has pio.^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin peior (“worse”), the comparative of malus (“bad”).^[3][7][8][9] Old Spanish peior and, in old Aragonese texts, peyor keep the Latin /j/ between the vowels.^[3][4]

The same Latin word is Italian peggiore, French pire, Old Occitan pejer, Old Catalan pejor and Old Galician-Portuguese peor.^[10][6] The REW notes that the correct Latin form had a short vowel and a double /j/.^[10]

The OLD and Gómez de Silva derive the Latin word from Proto-Indo-European *ped-yos-, a comparative of a root “to stumble, fall”.^[11][9] Vox and Gómez de Silva connect that root with the word for “foot”, the worse being “the one who stumbles”.^[11][9][12] Bénaben also takes it from a root “to fall”, with some hesitation.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, in a 14th-century copy): qui buena dueña escarnece e la dexa después atal le contesca o siquier peor “whoever mocks a good lady and leaves her, may the same befall him, or worse”.^[5][3][7] Menéndez Pidal classes this peor as an adverb of manner.^[14]

Semantic evolution

The word has been in general use at all periods, as both adjective and adverb: Alfonso X's Lapidario calls some vipers peores than others, and the General Estoria says Joseph's brothers wished him peor after his dream.^[3][2] Nebrija calls it the comparative of malo, and Covarrubias records ir de mal en peor “to go from bad to worse”.^[15][16]

The Academy's dictionaries record the expressions peor que peor (1817), peor es lo roto que lo descosido (1843) and tanto peor (1884).^[17][18][19] Baralt in 1855 and Román in Chile condemned de peor en peor as a copy of French de pis en pis, for the native de mal en peor.^[20][21] With nouns of blame it works as “greatest”, as in su peor enemigo “his worst enemy”.^[22] In Guatemala, Nicaragua and Paraguay the adverb also means “even more”.^[23]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid, in a 14th-century copy.^[5][7]
• c. 1194–1211 – peior in the Liber Regum.^[5]
• c. 1215 – peyor in the Vida de Santa María Egipcíaca.^[5][3]
• 1220–1250 – first record of the verb empeorar.^[7]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija calls it the comparative of malo, Latin peior and peius.^[15]
• 1515 – first record of the learned superlative pésimo.^[3][7]
• 1532 – the first records from the Americas, in Mexico.^[24]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records ir de mal en peor.^[16]
• 1817 – the Academy records peor que peor.^[17]
• 1855 – Baralt condemns de peor en peor as a Gallicism.^[20]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology and tanto peor.^[19]

Meanings

Adjective

1. worse: of poorer condition or quality than what it is compared with; the comparative of malo: Este café es peor que el de ayer.^[8][25]
2. With the article or a possessive, the worst: Fue el peor día de mi vida.^[12][22]

Adverb

1. Worse: more badly, in a way further from what is good or suitable; the comparative of mal: Hoy canta peor que nunca.^[8][25]
2. (Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay) Even more.^[23]

Word family

• empeorar
• peoría
• empeoramiento

Related words

• pésimo
• peyorativo
• Latin peior

Usage notes

Peor is not preceded by muy: one says mucho peor.^[26][22] Common phrases are peor que peor “all the worse”, tanto peor “so much the worse”, ponerse en lo peor “to expect the worst” and llevar la peor parte “to come off worst”.^[8][22][20]

References

1. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 209
2. ^ 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. peor
3. ^ 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, 481
4. ^ a b c Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1929), Vocabulario medieval castellano, Madrid: Librería y Casa Editorial Hernando, p. 328
5. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. peor
6. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. peior
7. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. peor
8. ^ 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. peor
9. ^ a b c Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 538
10. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. pejor
11. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. peor
13. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. peor
14. ^ Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. 386
15. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 396
16. ^ 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. 1205
17. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 659
18. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 550
19. ^ 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. 812
20. ^ a b c Baralt, Rafael María (1855), Diccionario de galicismos, Madrid: Imprenta de J. Cruzado, p. 512
21. ^ Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 208
22. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. peor
23. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. peor
24. ^ 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. peor
25. ^ a b Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
26. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2014), Lexicón etimológico y semántico del latín y de las voces actuales que proceden de raíces latinas o griegas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 463