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renombre

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word renombre

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1460–1463 poems of Diego del Castillo and Pedro Torrellas in a cancionero copy More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin nōmen

Pronunciation

  • /reˈnombɾe/, [reˈnõm.bɾe][1]

Forms

renombre m (uncountable)[1]

Etymology

The DLE explains it as from Spanish renombrar (“to name”) + -e, and Gómez de Silva analyses it as re- and nombre.[2][3] The 2001 edition of the Academy's dictionary, Moliner and Alemany instead took it from a Latin renōmen.[4][5][6] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of that noun, which continues Latin nōmen (“name”).[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Escorial manuscript of the Spanish version of Mandeville's travels (about 1400) has the form renom: the Herods heran de grant renom por lur crueldat “were of great renown for their cruelty”.[9] The full form renombre appears in 15th-century cancionero poems by Diego del Castillo and Pedro Torrellas, known from a copy of 1460–1463, where the beloved deserves renombre and praise.[9] In these texts it already means fame.[9]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija in 1492 and about 1495 used it for Latin agnomen and cognomen, an added name or surname, and also for the honorific names of the Romans.[8] Autoridades in 1737 gave both senses: a person's own surname or byname, quoting Nebrija, and an epithet of glory earned by one's deeds, mostly heroic ones.[10] Cervantes uses it in the Quijote of the fame of the Great Captain and of Alexander's surname Magno.[11] In the Americas it appears from 1545, often of a bad name, such as being branded a tyrant.[12] The Academy added the sense “fame and celebrity” in 1869; the DLE keeps the three senses.[13][2]

Timeline

  • 1460–1463 – the copy of the cancionero poems of Diego del Castillo and Pedro Torrellas with renombre.[9]
  • 1492 – Nebrija uses renombre to gloss Latin agnomen.[8]
  • 1495 – the date Corominas gives for the first record.[7]
  • 1545 – first record in the Americas, in the Río de la Plata.[12]
  • 1737 – Autoridades defines it as a surname and as an epithet of glory.[10]
  • 1869 – the Academy adds the sense “fame and celebrity”.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. renown, fame, celebrity: una pintora de renombre internacional.[2][1][5]
  2. An epithet of glory, or the fame someone wins by great deeds or by marked learning and talent.[2]
  3. A person's own surname or byname (sobrenombre).[2][5]

Usage notes

The phrase de renombre means “renowned, well known”.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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. renombre
  3. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 604
  4. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. renombre
  5. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. renombre
  6. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1442
  7. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. nombre
  8. ^ a b c 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. renombre
  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. renombre
  10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 573
  11. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 965
  12. ^ 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. renombre
  13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 673
Cite this entry

“Renombre.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/renombre. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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