producir

Forms

producir (first-person singular present produzco, first-person singular preterite produje, past participle producido)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin prōdūcō (“to lead forward, bring forth; to beget”).^[1][2][3][4] The Latin verb is formed with prō- (“forward”) on dūcō (“to lead”).^[5][1][6] Corominas lists it among the learned words of the family of aducir, with conducir, deducir, inducir, introducir, reducir, seducir and traducir.^[3][7] Vox dates the borrowing to the 15th century.^[8] Terreros gives French produire and Italian produrre as its equivalents.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates it about 1440, in Juan de Mena and Alfonso de Palencia.^[3][7] The CDH has earlier texts in the Aragonese translations of Juan Fernández de Heredia (1379–1384), where the word means “to bring forth, grow” in a natural sense: la laguna produze canyas de las quales se fazen las flautas “the lake produces reeds from which flutes are made”.^[10] The CDH's single earlier hit, dated 1356 under the Fuero viejo de Castilla, is a gloss explaining enguero as what a beast fails to produce while impounded.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Heredia's translation of Thucydides already has the legal sense, produziendo testimonios “bringing forward witnesses”.^[10] Covarrubias explains it as Latin gignere, to beget from oneself, as the earth produces fruit.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as bringing something forth from oneself by vital action, as begetting, and in law as alleging reasons or presenting documents.^[12] In 1843 the Academy added bearing fruit, yielding interest and causing good or ill, and a reflexive “to express oneself”.^[13]

The DLE adds manufacturing useful things, the economic sense of creating goods and services, and financing and organising a film or television programme.^[2] The reflexive producirse “to happen, arise” is now common, but in Chile Román condemned it in the sense “to appear, present oneself”.^[14][1][15] Garzón notes popular Argentine past forms such as produjieron and producí.^[16]

Timeline

• 1379–1384 – Juan Fernández de Heredia's translation of Plutarch uses it of a lake producing reeds.^[10]
• c. 1440 – Corominas's date for the first record, in Juan de Mena.^[7][3]
• 1521 – the first record from the Americas, in Puerto Rico, of the fruit a land produces.^[17]
• 1611 – Covarrubias explains it as Latin gignere.^[11]
• 1726 – the derivative reproducir is first recorded.^[7]
• 1843 – the Academy adds the senses “bear fruit”, “yield interest” and “cause”.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology from Latin producere.^[18]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To beget, procreate, bring forth; said of nature and, by extension, of the mind.^[2]
2. (transitive) Of land, a tree and so on: to bear fruit, yield: Esta huerta produce tomates todo el verano.^[2][1]
3. (transitive) To yield interest, profit or income.^[2][14]
4. (transitive) To cause, bring about: El humo le produjo tos.^[2][1]
5. (transitive) To make, manufacture useful things.^[2]
6. (transitive) To provide the money and means for a film, a television programme or the like and manage its budget.^[2]
7. (transitive, law) To present reasons, motives or evidence in support of a claim.^[2]
8. (transitive, economics) To create goods or services with economic value.^[2]
9. (reflexive) To happen, take place: Se produjo un apagón en todo el barrio.^[1][14]
10. (reflexive) To express oneself in words.^[2]

Word family

• producible
• reproducir

Related words

• producción
• producto
• productor
• aducir
• conducir
• Latin prōdūcō

Usage notes

It is conjugated like conducir: produzco, produje.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. producir
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 61
4. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. producir
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 572
7. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. aducir
8. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. producir
9. ^ 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, 220
10. ^ 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. producir
11. ^ 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
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 393
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 591
14. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. producir
15. ^ Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 457
16. ^ Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 401
17. ^ 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. producir
18. ^ 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