robador

Forms

robador m (plural robadores, feminine robadora, feminine plural robadoras)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish robar + -dor, “one who robs”.^[1][2][3] The verb robar comes from *raubare, a Vulgar Latin verb common to the main Western Romance languages, taken from *raubōną (“to plunder, snatch”).^[2][3]

The same formation is Catalan robador.^[4] Corominas mentions Sardinian robadore in the 14th-century statutes of Castelsardo in Sardinia, which he takes for an early borrowing from Catalan or Genoese.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DEMel's earliest primary record is the plural robadores in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar (first half of the 13th century); Corominas's first record is Berceo, and the BDELC dates it 1220–1250.^[5][2][3] The prose of Alfonso X uses it for a robber, especially a highway robber (robador de caminos), in astrological texts of about 1254–1256: one born under a certain planet will be ladron robador de camino & maldito “a thief, a highway robber and accursed”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Old Spanish robar first meant “to plunder” in war, and the distinction between robar “to take by force” and hurtar “to take by stealth” lasted into the classical language, so a robador was at first a violent robber.^[2] Nebrija glossed it with Latin grassator “highwayman”, and the documents of the conquest of the Americas pair robadores with tiranos and alborotadores “rioters”.^[7][8] Autoridades (1737) defined it simply as one who robs, and Terreros recorded robador de corazones “stealer of hearts” for a charming person.^[9][10]

By the 19th century the word was falling out of use, as Echegaray noted, and ladrón took its place in common speech.^[4] The Academy has given it as an adjective, also used as a noun, since 1884.^[11][12] Moliner records it among children, for one who takes things from another.^[13]

Timeline

• 1200–1250 – robadores in the Fazienda de Ultra Mar.^[5]
• 13th century – Berceo uses the word, the DCECH's first record.^[2]
• c. 1254 – Alfonso X's astrological prose has robador de caminos “highway robber”.^[6]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin grassator.^[7][2]
• 1526 – the first record from the Americas, in Santa Marta.^[8]
• 1737 – Autoridades defines it as one who robs.^[9]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary makes it an adjective also used as a noun.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. thieving; that robs.^[12][1]

Noun

1. A robber, a thief.^[12][1]
2. (among children) One who takes things away from another child.^[13]
3. (Panama, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay) A fishing tackle (aparejo) with several hooks.^[14]

Related words

• robo
• ropa
• Catalan robador

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 35
3. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. robar
4. ^ a b Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 199
5. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. robador
6. ^ a b 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. robador
7. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 410
8. ^ 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. robador
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 626
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, 382
11. ^ 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. 937
12. ^ a b c 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. robador
13. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. robador
14. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. robador