rey

Forms

rey m (plural reyes, feminine reina, feminine plural reinas)^[1] Old Spanish also had re (a charter of 1148, the Fuero de Avilés, Leonese documents of 1129–1260) and ree, especially in the plural; the usual early plural was reys.^[2] Berceo, and the 13th century in general, pronounced the word in two syllables, re-i.^[2][3] The feminine reina was stressed reína in the Cid, Berceo and Juan Ruiz and still in the 15th century;^[1] réina in two syllables appears in 1475.^[2][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin rēx (“king”), continuing its accusative, and Old Spanish rey has this form from the 10th century on.^[2][4][5][1] Corominas calls the sound development regular, referring to the studies of Américo Castro and García de Diego.^[2] The feminine reina is rēgīna (“queen”).^[5][2]

The same Latin word is Portuguese rei, Galician rei, Asturian rei, Catalan rei, Occitan rei, French roi, Italian re and Sardinian re.^[6][7][1]

The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Italic *rēks and Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler, king”), and its closest cognates are Old Irish rí (“king”) and Sanskrit राजन् (rā́jan, “king”).^[8][1] The Latin dictionaries connect it with regō (“to rule, direct”), and Vox places regir, derecho, recto and regla in the same Indo-European family, from the idea of moving in a straight line, leading.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas finds reie in a charter of 965 and rey in one of 983 and in 12th-century documents in Oelschläger's list.^[2][4] In the Cantar de mio Cid the king of Castile banishes the hero and presides over the court; the poem also calls Moorish emirs reyes and God the rey de los reyes.^[11]

Semantic evolution

Alfonso X's prose already uses the word for the chess piece and for the three Magi, los reys magos.^[12] Autoridades gives first the title of God, then the sovereign, the chief piece in chess and the queen bee, which was then thought to be a king.^[13] In 1869 the Academy listed the card that shows a crowned figure, the swineherd of a village (colloquial), a step of the Spanish dance, a magnanimous person, the person chosen to rule a game or feast, the rey de armas (a herald), and the cant sense “rooster”, which Hidalgo had recorded in 1609.^[14][15] By 1917 it also named any person, animal or thing that excels among others of its kind.^[16]

Today the plural Reyes names the feast of the Epiphany and the presents given then, and the word is used affectionately to children.^[5][17] In the Americas reyes de armas are recorded in 1529, and the proverbial ni rey ni roque “nobody at all” in Yucatán in 1563.^[18] In Leonese rey is also the first lamb of the year and a black seed of maize, and in Asturian an ear of maize with red grains.^[19][2] Judeo-Spanish has many proverbs with the word.^[20] In the Dominican Republic the rey and reina lead the brotherhoods of the Congos.^[21]

Timeline

• 965 – a charter has the form reie.^[2]
• 983 – a charter has rey.^[2][4]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses rey for the king of Castile and for Moorish emirs.^[11][2]
• 1148 – a charter has the variant re.^[2]
• 1188 – first record of the adjective real “royal”.^[4]
• 1272–1275 – the General estoria names the three reys magos.^[12]
• 1283 – an Alfonsine text on chess uses rey for the chess piece.^[12]
• 1495 – first record of virrey.^[4]
• 1529 – first record from the Americas, of the reyes de armas.^[18]
• 1607 – first record of reyezuelo.^[4]
• 1609 – Hidalgo's cant vocabulary gives rey “rooster”.^[15]
• 1869 – the Academy lists the card, the swineherd, the dance step and the king of a game or feast.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. king, monarch: the sovereign of a kingdom; feminine reina “queen”.^[5][1]
2. A person who has the rank of king or queen by marriage.^[5]
3. A person, animal or thing that excels among others of its kind: Es el rey de los postres.^[5][17]
4. (chess) The king, the chief piece, which moves one square in any direction except when castling.^[5][1]
5. (cards) The king, the card showing a king, the twelfth of each suit in the Spanish deck.^[5][17]
6. A step of an old Spanish dance.^[5]
7. In a game or feast, the person chosen to command the others.^[5]
8. (dated) A swineherd.^[5][17]
9. (germanía) Rooster.^[5]
10. (in the plural) The Epiphany; the presents given at Epiphany: ¿Qué te han traído los Reyes?^[5][17]
11. (colloquial) A term of endearment, especially to children.^[17][1]

Word family

• reyezuelo
• reyuno
• virrey
• Reyes Magos

Related words

• real
• regio
• regir
• régulo
• reina
• reinado
• reinar
• reino
• realeza
• regicida
• Latin rēx
• Portuguese rei

Usage notes

Set phrases include Reyes Magos “the Magi”, ni rey ni roque “nobody at all” and el rey que rabió, a proverbial figure of remote antiquity.^[5][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 900
3. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 667
4. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. rey
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. rey
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. rex
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. rex
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. rēx
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. rex
10. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. rey
11. ^ a b Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. 414
12. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. rey
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 615
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 683
15. ^ a b Hidalgo, Juan (1609), Romances de germanía de varios autores, con el vocabulario por la orden del a.b.c. para declaración de sus términos y lengua, Barcelona: Sebastián de Cormellas (ed. Madrid 1779), p. 197
16. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1457
17. ^ a b c d e f Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. rey
18. ^ 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. rey
19. ^ 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. rey
20. ^ Nehama, Joseph (1977), Dictionnaire du judéo-espagnol, Madrid: CSIC, p. s.v. rey
21. ^ Academia Dominicana de la Lengua; Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (2024), Diccionario del español dominicano, 2nd ed., online at https://ded.igalex.org, p. s.v. rey