perdón

Forms

perdón m (plural perdones)^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun formed from Spanish perdonar (“to forgive”), as Corominas, García de Diego and Bénaben agree.^[2][3][4] The verb continues Late Latin perdōnō, formed from per- and dōnō (“to give”), which is itself from dōnum (“gift”).^[2][5][1] Corominas notes that the Late Latin verb is found in the Latin Aesop and is common to all the western Romance languages;^[2][1] Wiktionary dates it to 350–500.^[2][1]

The verb is Portuguese perdoar, Galician perdoar, Catalan perdonar, French pardonner and Italian perdonare.^[3][1] Wiktionary mentions that Proto-Germanic *fragebaną may be a calque of it, or the other way round.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates perdón to 1100, from a text published in the Bulletin Hispanique, and then to the Cantar de mio Cid.^[2][6] In the Cid (c. 1140, in a 14th-century copy) the hero's service earns him a promise: él lo merece e de mí abrá perdón “he deserves it and shall have my pardon”.^[7][8] The first record without a later copy is Herman the German's translation of the Psalms (c. 1240–1272).^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the prose of Alfonso X the word meant the remission of a punishment, offence or debt, and in the plural the indulgences granted by the Church.^[9] Berceo already used it for God's forgiveness.^[7] The 1726 Autoridades records the indulgence, the burning drop that falls from a candle, and the phrase con perdón, with a passage of the Quijote where a swineherd says he has sold, con perdón sea dicho, four pigs.^[10]

In Asturias and León perdones are the sweets and nuts brought home from a pilgrimage for those who did not go;^[2][11] Le Men explains that they were originally indulgences, and compares the Breton pardon.^[2][11] In Chile el Perdón is a popular hymn sung at missions.^[12]

Timeline

• 1100 – the first record according to Corominas.^[2]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid (in a 14th-century copy).^[7][6]
• c. 1240–1272 – Herman the German's Psalter, the first record without a later copy.^[7]
• 1256–1300 – a legal work of Alfonso X uses perdones for indulgences.^[9]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives the Latin venia, remissio and condonatio.^[13]
• 1552 – the first record in the Americas, in La Paz.^[14]
• 1726 – the Diccionario de Autoridades records con perdón and the burning drop.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of forgiving; pardon, forgiveness: Le pidió perdón a su hermana.^[15][1]
2. Remission of a deserved penalty, an offence, or a debt or obligation.^[15][9]
3. An indulgence, remission of sins.^[15][9]
4. (colloquial) A drop of oil or wax that falls burning.^[15][16]
5. (in the plural) Sweets, nuts and other treats brought back from a pilgrimage.^[15][11]

Interjection

1. sorry, excuse me: a polite apology; also used to interrupt someone.^[15][1]
2. ¿Perdón? “Pardon?”: asking for something not understood to be repeated.^[15][1]

Word family

• perdonable
• perdonavidas

Related words

• perdonar
• donar
• don
• Latin dōnō
• French pardon

Usage notes

Con perdón excuses something the speaker thinks unseemly.^[15][10] The proverb quien roba a un ladrón tiene cien años de perdón excuses stealing from a thief.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 2, 414
3. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954)
4. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses
5. ^ 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. perdonar
6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. donar
7. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. perdón
8. ^ Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. 386
9. ^ a b c d 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. perdón
10. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. s.v. perdón
11. ^ a b c Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. perdón
12. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1942), Diccionario general de americanismos, 3 vols., México: Pedro Robredo, p. 447
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
14. ^ 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. perdón
15. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. perdón
16. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. perdón