respetable

Forms

respetable m or f (masculine and feminine plural respetables)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish respetar + -able.^[1][2][3] The DCECH and the BDELC list it, without a date, among the derivatives of respeto, a learned word taken from respectus (“regard, consideration”), and of the verb, from respectō (“to look back”).^[4][5]

The CDH has the adjective from the first decade of the 16th century, while the DCECH and the BDELC first record the verb in 1570, in Cristóbal de las Casas's dictionary.^[6][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first text in the CDH is a letter of Ferdinand the Catholic of 1501–1509, where the word is part of a courteous address: El rey de Aragon á los respetables, magnificos, amados y devotos nuestros, Gobernador y Consejo “The King of Aragon to our respectable, magnificent, beloved and devoted Governor and Council”.^[6] Antonio de Guevara's Epístolas familiares (1521–1543) open a letter with Muy respetable señor “most respectable sir”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The 2001 edition of the Academy's dictionary explains the noun el respetable “the audience” as a shortening of respetable público, a form of address to an audience.^[7][8] In the 17th century the adjective was used of persons of dignified bearing and of things that inspire awe, as in Cabrera de Córdoba's muy respetable of a knight and Paravicino's armas suyas, si no tremendas, respetables “its weapons, if not fearsome, worthy of respect”.^[6] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as worthy of veneration and respect, with Latin venerabilis.^[9][4] Terreros gave French imposant and respectable as equivalents.^[10] The Academy reduced the definition to “worthy of respect” in 1843 and gave the etymology “from respetar” from 1884.^[11][2]

In the Americas the word was soon used of military strength: a 1697 text from Mexico City speaks of making a fortress respetable al enemigo “formidable to the enemy”.^[12] The weakened sense “considerable, sizeable” is now general in Spanish: Santamaría records it for Guatemala, and Román in Chile, quoting Ortúzar, still condemned it as a confusion of respect with size.^[13][14][15] The noun el respetable for the audience at a show is colloquial and humorous, and is listed among the regionalisms of Spain.^[15][8][16]

Timeline

• 1501–1509 – first record in the CDH, in the letters of Ferdinand the Catholic.^[6]
• 1521–1543 – Guevara addresses a letter to a muy respetable señor.^[6]
• 1570 – the first record of the base verb respetar in the DCECH and the BDELC.^[4][5]
• 1697 – first record from the Americas, in Mexico City.^[12]
• 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as “worthy of veneration and respect”.^[9]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary derives it from the verb.^[2]
• 2001 – the Academy's dictionary adds the etymology of the noun el respetable.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Worthy of respect; respectable: Es una opinión respetable, aunque no la comparto.^[15][1][8]
2. (emphatic) considerable, sizeable: Nos detuvimos a una respetable altura del suelo.^[15][1][17]

Noun

1. (colloquial, humorous, with the article: el respetable) The audience at a theatre or other show.^[15][8][16]

Word family

• respetabilidad

Related words

• respeto
• respetuoso
• Latin respectus

Usage notes

The sense “considerable” (una suma respetable) was criticised by Chilean purists, who held that respect has nothing to do with size; the DLE now admits it as an emphatic use.^[14][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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
3. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1449
4. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 739
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. respeto
6. ^ 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. respetable
7. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. respetable
8. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. respetable
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5
10. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 3, 358
11. ^ Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 633
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. respectable
13. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959), Diccionario de mejicanismos, México: Porrúa, p. 937
14. ^ a b Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. 101
15. ^ 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. respetable
16. ^ a b León, Víctor (1980), Diccionario de argot español y lenguaje popular, Madrid: Alianza Editorial, p. s.v. respetable
17. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. respetable