resoluto

Forms

resoluto (feminine resoluta, masculine plural resolutos, feminine plural resolutas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin resolūtus (“loosened, released”), the past participle of resolvo (“to loosen, undo”).^[2][3][4] In Spanish it was long used as the irregular past participle of resolver, beside the regular resuelto; the Academy's dictionaries marked it as old in that use.^[2][5][6] Corominas lists it among the learned derivatives of solvo, with a first record of 1574.^[7]

The same Latin participle is Catalan resolut, French résolu and Italian risoluto.^[8]

The Latin verb is formed from re- and a verb meaning “to loosen”, which de Vaan explains as a compound of *se- (“away”) and luo (“to loosen”).^[9][1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The form appears in the Spanish translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus's El libro de proprietatibus rerum, printed at Toulouse in 1494.^[11] In 1574 a letter from Mexico City calls a matter difinida y resoluta “settled and decided”.^[12][7] From 1585 the word is applied to people: the resolutos theologians of Potosí, and in 1588 a writer of New Granada who is resoluto in a matter.^[12][7]

Semantic evolution

In the Golden Age the adjective meant “determined, resolute”: Autoridades quotes Ambrosio de Morales on Scipio, más resoluto y más determinado never again to fight the people of ⟨Numancia⟩, and Fray Luis de Granada.^[13] Cervantes speaks of Anselmo's resoluta voluntad in the Quijote.^[14]

The Academy's dictionary of 1817 added two senses, “abridged, summarised” and “versed, skilful, quick”, which survive in the DLE as “concise” and “having ease and skill”.^[5][2] Moliner treats the first sense as a synonym of resuelto and also gives “expeditious” of people.^[3]

Timeline

• 1494 – the form in a translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus printed at Toulouse.^[11]
• 1574 – the first record Corominas gives; a letter from Mexico City has the feminine resoluta.^[7][12]
• 1585 – applied to theologians in Potosí.^[12]
• 1737 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as the same as resuelto.^[13]
• 1817 – the Academy adds the senses “abridged” and “versed, skilful”.^[5]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the Latin etymology.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a person: resolute (resuelto), acting with determination and firmness: Se mostró resoluta ante el tribunal.^[2][3][1]
2. Of a person: having ease, skill and confidence.^[2]
3. concise, abridged, succinct.^[2][3]

Related words

• resolver
• resuelto
• resolución
• disoluto
• Latin resolvo

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. resoluto
3. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. resoluto
4. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. resoluto
5. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 757
6. ^ 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. 927
7. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 23
8. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 161
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ a b Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org, p. s.v. resoluto
12. ^ a b c d 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. resoluto
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 595
14. ^ 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. 971