responsable

Forms

responsable m or f (masculine and feminine plural responsables)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, which the DLE takes as borrowed from Medieval Latin responsabilis (“requiring an answer”), a derivative of responsō (“to answer”).^[2] The Academy's dictionary from 1884 to 2001, Moliner and Bénaben derived it instead from responsum, the supine of respondeō (“to answer; to pledge oneself”), taken in the sense “to stand surety”.^[3][4][5][6] Gómez de Silva analyses it as the Latin participle responsus with the Spanish suffix -able.^[7] Corominas lists it under responder with the date 1737, and Autoridades called it a word “introduced in modern times”.^[8][9]

Du Cange records the Medieval Latin adjective in a decree of the Paris Parlement of 1351, of a legal claim that had to be answered.^[10] Niermeyer gives the Medieval Latin verb the sense “to bring an action”.^[11] French responsable is recorded as an adjective from 1304, and the DHLF also treats it as a learned formation on the same supine.^[12]

The Latin verb is formed from re- and spondeō (“to promise solemnly”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's first regular example is from 1730, in Moya Torres y Velasco's treatise on the ills of Spain, where captains and other officers are to be responsables for fraud, that is, answerable for it and liable to punishment.^[13] Autoridades defined it in 1737 as one who is bound to answer or give satisfaction for some charge or office.^[9][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word belonged to the language of law, trade and administration: the CDH's examples of the 1730s and 1740s deal with company directors, trades and merchants who are answerable for losses.^[13] Terreros gave it two senses, one bound to render account of what he has handled for another, with the French equivalent comptable, and a guarantor or surety.^[14] The earliest records from the Americas are of 1746 (Mexico) and 1760 (Bogotá), with the construction responsable a something.^[15]

Salvá in 1846 added the sense of one who has stood surety for another, and the Academy in 1869 widened the definition to a charge, commission or contract.^[16][17] The noun responsabilidad dates from the 19th century.^[8] Alemany's dictionary of 1917 records the phrase editor responsable, the publisher legally answerable for a printed work.^[18] The 2001 edition of the Academy's dictionary added the sense “careful and conscientious” and the noun for the person in charge of work in a factory, office or building.^[4] Moliner also gives “guilty, to blame” and the phrase hacerse responsable de algo “to take responsibility for something”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1595 – the CDH's earliest hit is in Ribadeneira's treatise on the Christian prince; a hit of c. 1604 in Mendieta's Historia eclesiástica indiana (Mexico) follows.^[13]
• 1730 – Moya Torres y Velasco uses the word for officers answerable for fraud.^[13]
• 1737 – Autoridades enters it as a recently introduced word;^[15] Corominas dates it from here.^[9][8]
• 1746 – first record from the Americas, in Mexico.^[15]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros gives the French equivalents comptable and responsable.^[14]
• 19th century – the noun responsabilidad appears.^[8]
• 1884 – the Academy gives an etymology for the first time, from Latin responsum.^[3]
• 1917 – Alemany records editor responsable.^[18]
• 2001 – the Academy adds the senses “conscientious” and “person in charge”.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. responsible, answerable: bound to answer for something or for someone; also used as a noun: Los padres son responsables de los daños que causen sus hijos.^[2][1]
2. Of a person: careful and attentive in what they do or decide, aware of their obligations: Es una alumna muy responsable.^[2][5]
3. To blame, guilty of something; also as a noun, the person who did it: el responsable del robo.^[5]

Noun

1. The person in charge of directing and supervising work in a factory, shop, office or building: Pregunte al responsable de la obra.^[2][5]

Word family

• responsabilidad
• irresponsable
• corresponsable
• responsabilizar

Related words

• responder
• respuesta
• responso
• Latin respondeō
• French responsable

Usage notes

Moliner notes the set phrases hacerse or salir responsable de algo, common in negative sentences.^[5] The DRAE of 2001 has the legal term responsable civilmente, one who, without criminal liability, must make good the consequences of an offence.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. responsable
3. ^ 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. 928
4. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. responsable
5. ^ a b c d e f Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. responsable
6. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. responsable
7. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 609
8. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. responder
9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 598
10. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
11. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ 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. responsable
14. ^ a b 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, 360
15. ^ a b c 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. responsable
16. ^ Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 948
17. ^ Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 678
18. ^ a b Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1450