pertenecer

Forms

pertenecer (first-person singular present pertenezco, first-person singular preterite pertenecí, past participle pertenecido)^[1] Old Spanish wrote pertenesçer and perteneçer, with present forms such as pertenesce, perteneçe and pertenez.^[2][3]

Etymology

Corominas derives it from Old Spanish pertener + -ecer.^[4][5] The simple verb, recorded in 1219, is from Latin pertineō (“to reach, extend; to concern, belong”).^[4][6] The DLE likewise explains the verb as the Latin one with the suffix ⟨-scere⟩.^[6] Menéndez Pidal and García de Diego start from a Vulgar Latin *pertinescere, and Wiktionary allows both views.^[7][8][1]

The same verb is Portuguese pertencer and Galician pertencer, which Cunha takes from an inchoative of the Latin verb.^[9][8] Catalan pertànyer has a stem altered by pertingere (“to reach”) and by Catalan tànyer.^[10]

The Latin verb is formed from per- and teneō (“to hold”).^[11][1] The simple Latin verb is a stative from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) it means “to be fitting”: pertenecen pora mis fijas e aún pora mejores “they are fit for my daughters and for better still”.^[12][7][4] The Auto de los Reyes Magos (c. 1180) has the sense “to belong to, be due to”: the king will take the incense quel pertenecerá “which will be his due”.^[12]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's prose the verb already has the three senses the Academy still gives: “to be due to or one's own”, “to be one's duty” and “to concern, be part of”.^[3][13] Terreros added “to depend on, be connected with”.^[14] Domínguez in 1846 recorded a reflexive use for people who belong to each other.^[15] Moliner and Vox also give membership of a group or class as a main sense.^[16][17]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses it for “to be fitting”.^[12][4]
• c. 1180 – the Auto de los Reyes Magos uses it for “to be due to”.^[12]
• 1200 – the noun pertenencia.^[4][5]
• 1219 – the simple verb pertener in the Fuero de Oviedo.^[4]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario uses it in three senses.^[3]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija translates it as Latin pertineo and attineo;^[18] perteneciente is recorded.^[18][5]
• 1515 – first record in the Americas, in Tierra Firme.^[19]
• mid-16th century – the learned pertinente, from the Latin participle.^[4][5]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines its three senses.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology from Latin pertinere.^[20]

Meanings

Verb

1. To belong to someone, be their property or their due: Ese terreno pertenece a mi tío.^[6][1][16]
2. To be part of something; to be a member of a group: Pertenece a un club de ajedrez.^[16][6]
3. To be someone's duty or responsibility.^[6]
4. To concern, relate to something.^[6]
5. (reflexive) To be independent, be one's own master.^[1]

Word family

• pertenencia
• perteneciente

Related words

• pertinente
• tener
• Latin pertineō
• Portuguese pertencer

Usage notes

It is conjugated like agradecer: pertenezco, pertenezca.^[16][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. pertenecer
3. ^ a b c 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. pertenecer
4. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 461
5. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tener
6. ^ 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. pertenecer
7. ^ a b Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. 387
8. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4966
9. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 2558
10. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. pertànyer
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. pertineō
12. ^ 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. pertenecer
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 237
14. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 3, 110
15. ^ 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, 1367
16. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. pertenecer
17. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. pertenecer
18. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 396
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. pertenecer
20. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 821