procurador

Forms

procurador m (plural procuradores, feminine procuradora, feminine plural procuradoras)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōcūrātor (“manager, agent”).^[2][1] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of the learned verb procurar, which he takes from Latin, and dates it only from Nebrija.^[3][4] The HSMS archive has it in 1223, in the Fuero of Alcalá de Henares.^[5]

The Latin noun is the agent noun of prōcūrō (“to look after, attend to”), which is prō- and cūrō (“to care for”).^[6][1] In Latin it meant a manager or agent, and the governor or revenue officer of an imperial province.^[6][7] Medieval Latin used it also for a steward, an attorney, a regent and the proctor of a university.^[8]

Catalan procurador has the same form.^[9] French procurateur was refashioned in 1317 from older borrowings of the same Latin word.^[10] The Basque word is prokurari.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Fuero de Alcalá de Henares, of 1223, is the first text in the HSMS archive with the word.^[5] Alfonso X's Picatrix (1256) uses it for one who acts on another's behalf: tv eres procurador delos regnos “you are the steward of the kingdoms”.^[12]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word named an agent acting for someone else, and in the law a representative in a lawsuit.^[12][13] Covarrubias in 1611 knows the procurador de Cortes, the procurador of lawsuits and that of a town.^[14] The Diccionario de Autoridades gives the general sense, the court officer who argues a party's case, and the member of a religious community who runs its economic affairs.^[13]

The Academy's 1843 edition added the procurador síndico general, who defended the interests of a town in its council, the nun who manages a convent, and the procurador de Cortes sent by a city to the Cortes.^[15] By 1869 the dictionary noted that the last was now called diputado.^[16] Under Franco the title was revived for the members of the Cortes of the regime.^[17] In Spain it is also used for a member of some regional parliaments.^[1]

In the Americas the procurador síndico is recorded in Peru in 1545.^[18] Today it is a government lawyer in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, and in rural Peru the person who organises a religious festival.^[19][20]

Timeline

• 1223 – the Fuero de Alcalá de Henares.^[5]
• 1256 – Alfonso X's Picatrix uses it for a steward or agent.^[12]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin curator and procurator; the DCECH's first record.^[21][3]
• 1545 – the first record from the Americas, a procurador síndico in Peru.^[18]
• 1611 – Covarrubias lists the procurador of the Cortes, of lawsuits and of a town.^[14]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines the agent, the court officer and the steward of a community.^[13]
• 1843 – the Academy adds the procurador síndico general and the procurador de Cortes.^[15]
• 1869 – the dictionary says the procurador de Cortes is now called diputado.^[16]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the Latin etymology.^[22]

Meanings

Noun

1. An agent or proxy: a person who acts in another's name by virtue of a power granted by them.^[2][1]
2. In a community, the person who handles its economic affairs and business; in a religious community, the one in charge of the convent's finances: La procuradora del convento lleva las cuentas.^[2][17]
3. (law) A qualified professional who represents a party before the courts, beside the lawyer: El procurador presentó el escrito en el juzgado.^[2][23]
4. (law) The public prosecutor.^[2]
5. (history) A representative sent by a city to the old Cortes, as procurador en Cortes; under Franco, a member of the Cortes.^[2][17]
6. (Spain) A member of a regional parliament.^[1]
7. (Costa Rica, Puerto Rico) A government lawyer.^[19]
8. (Peru, rural) The person who organises the events of a religious festival.^[19]

Adjective

1. That procures or seeks something.^[2][17]

Related words

• procuraduría
• procurar
• curador
• cura
• Latin procurator
• Catalan procurador

Usage notes

Procurador en Cortes was earlier also procurador a Cortes or de Cortes.^[2][17] The old law of Aragon had a procurador astricto, bound to pursue certain criminal cases, because there they were never prosecuted ex officio.^[24]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. procurador
3. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 295
4. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. cura
5. ^ a b c Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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. 164
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. procurador
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 603
12. ^ 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. procurador
13. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 392
14. ^ 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. 1231
15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 590
16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 635
17. ^ a b c d e Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. procurador
18. ^ 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. procurador
19. ^ 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. procurador
20. ^ Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. procurador
21. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 401
22. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 868
23. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. procurador
24. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1374