Etymologically
Log in

promesa

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Spanish word promesa

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1200 Almerich, La fazienda de Ultra Mar, in a 13th-century copy More words from the 12th century
Inherited from
Latin *promissa
Ultimate origin
Latin mittō

Pronunciation

  • /pɾoˈmesa/, [pɾoˈme.sa][1]

Forms

promesa f (plural promesas)[1] Old Spanish wrote promessa beside promesa; the Academy kept the spelling promessa in the Diccionario de Autoridades.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *prōmissa (“promise”), recorded in Medieval Latin as promissa, from the plural of prōmissum (“a promise”).[1][4][5][6] That noun was the neuter past participle of prōmittō (“to send forth; to promise”), formed with prō- on mittō (“to send”).[7][1] Corominas and Segura Munguía describe the word as the old feminine past participle of prometer, which continues the Latin verb.[8][9]

The same word is Portuguese promessa, Galician promesa, Asturian promesa, Catalan promesa, French promesse and Italian promessa.[1][10][11][12] Cunha also derives the Portuguese word from Medieval Latin.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (c. 1200, in a 13th-century copy), where it is a vow to God: Antes prometio Israel promessa al Criador “Israel first made a promise to the Creator”.[13] Corominas dates the word 1220–1250, and Berceo speaks of la promesa jurada that he made at baptism.[8][13] The first text without a later copy is the Vidal Mayor (c. 1250), where a debt is owed por simple promesa “on a mere promise”, without a public deed.[13]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's prose already has both medieval senses, a promise to someone and a vow to God: the General estoria tells how the people of Israel tornaron se a prometer a dios sus promessas.[14] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined the promise as binding once deliberately made and accepted, and used the word especially for a vow to visit a shrine; from 1817 the Academy also listed the simple promesa, one not confirmed by vow or oath.[3][15] In 1884 it added the sum printed on the old lottery tickets as the prize for the amount staked.[16]

The modern dictionaries add a promising person (una promesa del ciclismo), a sign of good to come, and two legal senses: a solemn undertaking equivalent to an oath, and a preliminary contract.[4][17] In Chile vestirse de promesa is to wear the dress one vowed to a saint, and in Puerto Rico a promesa is a ceremony before a saint's image to fulfil a vow.[18][19][20] An Argentine proverb says promesas no ayudan a pagar “promises don't help pay”.[21]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – the earliest hit in the CDH, in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (in a 13th-century copy).[13]
  • 1220–1250 – Corominas's date for the first record.[8]
  • c. 1250 – the Vidal Mayor uses simple promesa in a legal sense.[13]
  • 1272–1275 – the General estoria uses it for vows to God.[14]
  • c. 1495 – Nebrija gives promessa o prometimiento as Latin promissio.[22]
  • 1515 – the first record from the Americas, in Puerto Rico.[23]
  • 1817 – the Academy lists the simple promesa.[15]
  • 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology promissa, plural of promissum, and the lottery sense.[16]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A promise: a statement that one will give something to someone or do something for them: Le hizo la promesa de volver antes de Navidad.[4][1]
  2. A person or thing that shows promise through special qualities: Esa nadadora es una gran promesa.[4][17]
  3. A sign or omen that leads one to expect something good.[4]
  4. A vow made to God or the saints to perform a pious work.[4][24]
  5. (historical) The sum printed on the tickets of the old lottery as the prize for the amount staked.[4]
  6. (law) A solemn undertaking, without a religious formula but equivalent to an oath, to carry out the duties of an office.[4]
  7. (law) A preliminary contract that precedes a more formal one, especially a sale.[4]

Usage notes

Simple promesa is a promise not confirmed by vow or oath, and promesa de matrimonio a formal promise to marry.[4][24] In Chile a promesero is a person who has made a vow to a saint and comes to fulfil it.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. promesa
  3. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 399
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. promesa
  5. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. meter
  9. ^ 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. 444
  10. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 2727
  11. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. promesa
  12. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. promesa
  13. ^ 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. promesa
  14. ^ a b 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. promesa
  15. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 708
  16. ^ 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. 870
  17. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. promesa
  18. ^ a b 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. 402
  19. ^ Malaret, Augusto (1999), Vocabulario de Puerto Rico, critical ed. by Humberto López Morales, Madrid: Arco/Libros (1st ed. 1937), p. 288
  20. ^ Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. promesa
  21. ^ Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres, p. 401
  22. ^ 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. promesa
  23. ^ 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. promesa
  24. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. promesa

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Promesa.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/promesa. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·