rasero

Forms

rasero m (plural raseros)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin rasorium, through an earlier Old Spanish *rasuero.^[2][3][4][1] Corominas calls the change a regular development, and notes that Latin has the word only in glosses, as an adjective.^[2] Wiktionary gives Late Latin rāsōrium, recorded from the 5th century and formed from rādō (“to scrape, shave”) with the tool suffix -tōrium.^[1] The Academy's dictionaries of 1884 to 1917 derived it from the verb rasar.^[5][6]

The same Latin word gave Italian rasoio, French rasoir, Occitan rasor and Catalan raor, all meaning “razor”, and the Catalan rasor “strickle”.^[2][7][8] Corominas suggests that the feminine is hidden in the name of the Castilian judge Nuño Rasura, written ⟨Rasuera⟩ in archaic texts, and survives as rasera.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records in the CDH date from the 1450s: Pedro Marín's sermons (after 1455) speak of a full measure raýda con su rasero “levelled with its strickle”, and Fernando de la Torre's letters (before 1456) already use the word figuratively, for a standard of judgement.^[9] Corominas and the BDELC date it from Alfonso de Palencia's Vocabulario of 1490.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The phrase por un rasero “with exactly the same measure, without distinction” is recorded from the late 15th century: in Juan del Encina the strong and the weak todos van por un rasero in death.^[9] In the Americas it appears from 1528 (Río de la Plata): a sickly land que a todos los llebó por un rasero.^[10] The Diccionario de Autoridades described the tool as a round stick, blunt at both ends, used to strike off a measure of grain, and gave the figurative sense of strict equality.^[11] Modern Spanish uses the word for any standard of judgement, as in doble rasero “double standard”.^[12][1] In Leonese it is also a carpenter's tool for shaping handles.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 1455 – Pedro Marín's sermons and Fernando de la Torre's letters.^[9]
• 1481–1496 – Juan del Encina has todos van por un rasero.^[9]
• 1490 – Alfonso de Palencia glosses Latin hostorium.^[2][3]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija: rasero de medida, Latin hostorium.^[14]
• 1528 – the first record from the Americas, in the Río de la Plata.^[10]
• 1591 – Percyvall translates it “a strike of a measure”.^[15]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades gives the tool and the figurative sense.^[11]
• 1884 – the Academy derives it from rasar.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A strickle: a round stick, sometimes shaped like a scraper, used to level off a measure of grain or other dry goods.^[4][1]
2. A standard or criterion by which things or people are judged: No se puede juzgar a todos con el mismo rasero.^[12][1]

Word family

• doble rasero

Related words

• raer
• raso
• rasar
• rasura
• Latin rādō

Usage notes

Por el mismo rasero or por un rasero means “with strict equality, without the least distinction”, mostly with medir and llevar.^[4][16]

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, 748
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. raer
4. ^ a b c 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. rasero
5. ^ 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. 898
6. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1415
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 5443
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. rasorium
9. ^ 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. rasero
10. ^ 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. rasero
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 492
12. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. rasero
13. ^ Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. rasero
14. ^ 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. rasero
15. ^ Percyvall, Richard (1591), Bibliothecae Hispanicae pars altera: containing a dictionarie in Spanish, English and Latine, London: John Jackson for Richard Watkins, p. 199
16. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 842