pulpo

Forms

pulpo m (plural pulpos)^[1] Juan Manuel's Libro del caballero y del escudero (1326) has the plural pulpes, and pulpe is still used in Cantabria.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin polypus (“octopus”), which is from Ancient Greek πολύπους (polúpous), literally “many-footed”.^[2][5][6][1] The Greek word is formed from πολύς (polús, “many”) and πούς (poús, “foot”).^[1][2] The Latin word was borrowed early, by Plautus's time.^[7] Corominas thinks the vowel /u/ probably comes from the dialects of the Cantabrian coast.^[5]

The same Latin word is Portuguese polvo, Galician polbo, Asturian pulpu, Catalan pop, older polp, and Italian polpo.^[4][8][9] French poulpe was taken from Provençal and refashioned after Latin in 1554.^[10] Spanish later borrowed the learned doublet pólipo (1555), with another sense.^[5][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first record is Alfonso X's General estoria (c. 1275, in an early 14th-century copy), in a simile of the octopus casting its arms round the fisherman who tries to catch it under water.^[3][12] Corominas dates the word from Juan Ruiz's Libro de buen amor (1330–1343), where the octopus gives the peacocks no rest in the battle of Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Covarrubias (1611) explains the name by the animal's many feet and records the saying traer más rabos que un pulpo, of a cloak torn and muddy at the hem.^[13] Autoridades (1737) describes the eight arms with suckers and the tough flesh, which must be beaten before cooking, and records poner como un pulpo, to beat someone black and blue.^[14] The Academy's 1884 edition gives the Greek etymology.^[15]

Moliner adds the colloquial sense of a man who touches others too much with erotic intent.^[16] The DLE adds the elastic strap with hooks that holds luggage on a car.^[6] In Peru, Bolivia and Chile, and in the Dominican Republic, a pulpo is someone who exploits others' work.^[17][18]

Timeline

• c. 1275 – Alfonso X's General estoria has pulpo.^[3]
• 1326 – Juan Manuel writes the plural pulpes.^[2][3]
• 1330–1343 – Juan Ruiz's Libro de buen amor, Corominas's first record.^[2][5]
• 1423 – Enrique de Villena's Arte cisoria lists pulpo among the fish served at table.^[3]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija glosses it with Latin polypus.^[19]
• 1551 – first record in the Americas, in Santo Domingo.^[20]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records traer más rabos que un pulpo.^[13]
• 1737 – Autoridades records poner como un pulpo.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. An octopus, a marine cephalopod with eight arms bearing suckers, whose flesh is eaten.^[6][1]
2. A bungee cord, an elastic strap used to tie down luggage.^[6][1]
3. (colloquial) A person who touches others too much with erotic intent.^[16]
4. (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic) A person who exploits others.^[17][18]

Related words

• pólipo
• Latin polypus
• Portuguese polvo
• Catalan pop

Usage notes

Poner a alguien como un pulpo means to give someone a thorough beating.^[6][14] Pulpo a la gallega is boiled octopus in the Galician style.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 689
3. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. pulpo
4. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. polypus
5. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. pulpo
6. ^ a b c d e 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. pulpo
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. pōlypus
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. polypus
9. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 6, 694
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. poulpe
11. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto, p. 577
12. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. pulpo
13. ^ 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. 1236
14. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 430
15. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 879
16. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. pulpo
17. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. pulpo
18. ^ a b Academia Dominicana de la Lengua; Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (2024), Diccionario del español dominicano, 2nd ed., online at https://ded.igalex.org, p. s.v. pulpo
19. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 402
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. pulpo