procónsul

Forms

procónsul m (plural procónsules)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōcōnsul (“proconsul”).^[2][1][3] The BDELC and the DCECH give it among the derivatives of cónsul, without a date.^[4][5]

Latin made the noun out of the phrase prō (“for, in place of”) cōnsule “in the stead of a consul”, as if it were the noun with prō- in front.^[6][1][7] It first named a consul whose command was prolonged for military or provincial duties, and later any official of that rank.^[6][8]

The same Latin word is Portuguese procônsul, Catalan procònsol and French proconsul;^[9] French borrowed it in 1495–1496, and Old Occitan proconsul had taken it about 1140.^[9][10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record in the CDH is an Old Spanish New Testament written before 1260 and kept in a manuscript of the mid-13th century: Gallion era proconsul en Acaya “Gallio was proconsul in Achaia”.^[12] About 1270 Alfonso X's Estoria de España tells how the Romans made the young Scipio proconsul and gave him command of the army sent to Spain.^[13][12] In both it is the Roman governor of a province.^[13]

Semantic evolution

Through the Middle Ages the word appears in histories of Rome and of Roman Spain, such as Juan Fernández de Heredia's translations of Orosius and Eutropius (1376–1399).^[12] Nebrija's Latin–Spanish dictionary (1492) glosses Latin proconsul by the Spanish word.^[14]

The Academy's 1817 dictionary defined it as a Roman provincial governor with consular jurisdiction, insignia and extraordinary powers.^[15] Domínguez added in 1846 an ironic political sense: any high authority that behaves like a despot.^[16] The figurative use is recorded in the Americas from 1840, when a Chilean text calls one leader the procónsul of another.^[17] Segura and Wikcionario give a modern sense, the governor of a colony or dependent territory who rules with wide powers.^[7][18]

Timeline

• before 1260 – an Old Spanish New Testament calls Gallio proconsul of Achaia.^[12]
• c. 1270 – Alfonso X's Estoria de España uses it of Scipio.^[13]
• 1376–1399 – Fernández de Heredia uses it in his translations of Orosius and Eutropius.^[12]
• 1492 – Nebrija's Latin–Spanish dictionary.^[14]
• 1817 – first entry in the Academy's dictionary.^[15]
• 1820 – first record from the Americas, in Santo Domingo.^[17]
• 1846 – Domínguez records the ironic sense “despotic authority”.^[16]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology from Latin proconsul.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) Among the ancient Romans, the governor of a province, with the jurisdiction and insignia of a consul.^[2][3][1]
2. The governor or administrator of a colony or other dependent territory, usually with wide powers and little control from the central government.^[7][18]
3. (ironic) A high authority who behaves like a despot.^[16]

Related words

• cónsul
• consular
• consulado
• Latin consul

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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. procónsul
3. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. procónsul
4. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cónsul
5. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 180
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c 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. 150
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. procônsul
10. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ 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. procónsul
13. ^ 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. procónsul
14. ^ a b 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. procónsul
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 706
16. ^ a b c 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, 1427
17. ^ 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. procónsul
18. ^ a b Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
19. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 867