premio

Forms

premio m (plural premios)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin praemium (“booty, spoils; reward”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun is formed from prae- (“before”) and emō (“to take, to buy”), as if “what one has taken before the others”.^[5][6][1][7] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁em- (“to take, distribute”).^[1]

The same learned borrowing is Catalan premi, first recorded in 1399, Italian premio and Portuguese prêmio.^[8][9][10] Its Spanish doublet prima, in its commercial and legal senses, came through French prime (1669) from English premium, a Latinism in English.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DCECH found the word first in the 15th century, in Santillana and Alfonso de la Torre, and noted that Palencia, Nebrija, Pedro de Alcalá and the medieval texts use galardón or precio instead.^[2] The BDELC dates it to about 1440.^[3] The CDH has older records: Alfonso X's Primera Partida (1256–1263, in a copy of about 1290) says that certain payments may not be demanded cuemo por premio, “as a reward”, and the Calila e Dimna (1251, in a copy of the late 14th or early 15th century) pairs premio with galardón.^[11] The first record in a text that is not a later copy is in Juan Fernández de Heredia's Orosio (1376–1396), where men do not dare ask the Romans for premio o gualardon.^[11]

Semantic evolution

For a long time the word was paired with the older galardón, as in a document from Nicaragua of 1527.^[12][11] Covarrubias in 1611 gives the reward for work or merit and the prize offered to the winner in games.^[13] The Diccionario de Autoridades adds the prizes of literary contests and the amount added in exchanges to even out the value of things.^[14] The Academy's dictionary of 1884 adds the extra value that the authorities give to some coins.^[15] The DLE also lists the prizes of the national lottery and those of raffles and contests.^[4]

In Guatemala premio is the interest paid on a loan, and in popular Nicaraguan speech it means pregnancy.^[16]

Timeline

• 1251 – the Calila e Dimna, in a copy of the late 14th or early 15th century.^[11]
• 1256–1263 – Alfonso X's Primera Partida, in a copy of about 1290.^[11]
• 1376–1396 – Juan Fernández de Heredia's Orosio, the first record not known from a later copy.^[11]
• c. 1440 – Corominas's first record; the verb premiar, from Late Latin praemiare, appears at the same time.^[3]
• 1527 – first record from the Americas, in Nicaragua.^[12]
• 1611 – Covarrubias gives the senses “reward” and “prize in games”.^[13]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades adds the premium in exchanges.^[14]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary adds the extra value given to coins.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. A reward or award given for merit or service: Recibió un premio por su labor en el hospital.^[4][1]
2. An amount added to a price or value as compensation or incentive; a premium.^[4][1]
3. (economics) An increase in the value of some coins, or one that comes from the rate of exchange.^[4]
4. Each of the prizes drawn in the national lotería.^[4]
5. A prize given in raffles, draws or contests.^[4][1]
6. (Guatemala) interest paid on a loan.^[16]
7. (Nicaragua, popular) pregnancy.^[16]

Related words

• premiar
• prima
• galardón
• Latin praemium
• Catalan premi

Usage notes

The DLE records premio de consolación, a prize for those who do not win the main one, and premio extraordinario, the highest mark in an academic degree;^[4][17] premio gordo is the top prize of a lottery.^[4][17]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 637
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. premio
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. premio
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. premio
8. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 6, 792
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. praemium
10. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. prêmio
11. ^ 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. premio
12. ^ 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. premio
13. ^ 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. 1226
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 356
15. ^ 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. 859
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. premio
17. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. premio