proponer

Forms

proponer (first-person singular present propongo, first-person singular preterite propuse, past participle propuesto)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōpōnō (“to set forth, put forward, propose”), adapted to the conjugation of poner.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Corominas dates it from the beginning of the 14th century, and Vox calls it a 14th-century loan, but the CDH has it in the 13th century.^[2][6][7] Wiktionary notes that it can also be analysed as pro- and the simple verb.^[1]

The Latin verb is formed from prō- (“forward, in front”) and pōnō (“to put, place”).^[8][1][9] This verb goes back to Proto-Italic *pozinō, a compound of *po (“off, away”) and *sinō (“to put in place”).^[10][1] The same Latin verb gave the English words propose and propound by other routes.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest hit in the CDH is in the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250), in a chapter heading on two opposing parties que propusieren una misma razon “who put forward the same claim”.^[7] In the Libro de Alexandre (1240–1250, in a 15th-century copy) Achillas propuso su razón ant' el rey “set out his case before the king”.^[7][11]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense of putting a claim or argument before a court is frequent in the 13th-century fueros and in the Vidal Mayor.^[7] A work of Alfonso X's scriptorium (1276–1279) already uses it for “to resolve, to decide” (la cosa que propusiere en su coraçon).^[12] In Berceo, Lanchetas reads one passage as “to put aside, forget”.^[13] Nebrija distinguishes proponer “to put in front”, Latin propono, from proponer en la voluntad “to intend”.^[14][15]

Covarrubias in 1611 defines it as setting something out with reasons, and Autoridades adds the scholastic sense of putting the middle term of an argument.^[16][5] The Academy's 1884 edition has the senses of nominating someone for a post and, in the card game écarté, inviting the other player to take new cards.^[17] Alemany in 1917 adds the mathematical sense of setting a problem.^[18] The pronominal proponerse “to set oneself to do something” is now the main use of the second sense.^[4][19]

Timeline

• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes has propusieren.^[7]
• 1240–1250 – propuso in the Libro de Alexandre (in a 15th-century copy).^[7]
• c. 1250 – the Vidal Mayor uses it of bringing a complaint.^[7]
• 1276–1279 – a work of Alfonso X's scriptorium uses it for “to decide”.^[12]
• Early 14th century – the Libro del caballero Zifar, Corominas's first record.^[2][3]
• 1538 – first record from the Americas, in Lima.^[20]
• 1611 – Covarrubias defines it.^[16]
• Early 17th century – first record of the noun propuesta.^[2][3]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary has the senses “to nominate” and the term of écarté.^[17]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To propose, put forward or suggest something with reasons, for someone's knowledge or so that they adopt it: Propuso cambiar la fecha de la reunión.^[4][1]
2. (mostly pronominal) To resolve or set oneself to do or not to do something: Se propuso terminar la tesis antes del verano.^[4][19]
3. (transitive) To make a proposal.^[4]
4. (transitive) To recommend or nominate someone for a post or office.^[4][1]
5. (transitive) In the schools, to present the arguments for and against a question.^[4]
6. (transitive) In the card game ecarté, to invite the other player to take new cards.^[4]
7. (transitive, mathematics) To set a problem.^[4]

Word family

• propuesta
• proponente

Related words

• poner
• proposición
• propósito
• Latin prōpōnō

Usage notes

It is conjugated like poner: propongo, propuse, propuesto.^[1] Autoridades already noted that it has the same irregularities.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 607
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. poner
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. proponer
5. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 405
6. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. proponer
7. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. proponer
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 576
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. proponer
12. ^ 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. proponer
13. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 612
14. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 401
15. ^ 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. proponer
16. ^ 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. 1232
17. ^ 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. 872
18. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1379
19. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. proponer
20. ^ 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. proponer