sanitario

Forms

sanitario (feminine sanitaria, masculine plural sanitarios, feminine plural sanitarias)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned formation of the 19th century: from Latin sānitās (“health”), with the Spanish suffix -ario.^[2][3] Wiktionary adds that it was probably modelled in part on French sanitaire.^[1] The older inherited noun of the same Latin word is sanidad, recorded from 1220–1250.^[2]

The Latin noun is formed from sānus (“healthy”) with the suffix -tās.^[4][1] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *sāno- and Proto-Indo-European *seh₂-no- for the adjective.^[5] The Latin noun also gave Portuguese sanidade, Catalan sanitat, French santé and Italian sanità.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record in the sources is from Chile in 1840, in the phrase cordón sanitario “sanitary cordon”: the Andes are said to be a cordon through which the contagion of the neighbouring republics could not easily pass.^[7] The Academy's dictionary of 1843 defines the adjective as what concerns health, with the example medidas sanitarias.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word began as an adjective of public health (cordón sanitario, medidas sanitarias).^[9][8] The Academy added in 1899 the noun for a member of the health corps, and Alemany in 1917 specified the military health corps.^[10][11] In the 20th century the adjective was extended to the hygienic fittings of a building, and the masculine plural sanitarios now names the bathroom fittings.^[3][12] In much of Latin America sanitario is a public toilet, a use Santamaría in 1959 called a euphemism.^[13][14] The DTME notes that under English influence sanitario often replaces de salud.^[15]

Timeline

• 1840 – cordón sanitario in a Chilean text.^[7]
• 1843 – first in the Academy's dictionary.^[8]
• 1884 – the Academy gives the etymology from Latin sanitas.^[16]
• 1899 – the noun “member of the health corps” enters the Academy's dictionary.^[10]
• 1959 – Santamaría records sanitario “toilet” in Mexico.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to sanidad, public health: Se reforzaron los controles sanitarios en el puerto.^[3][1]
2. Of or relating to the hygienic installations of a house or building.^[3]
3. (nautical) Of or relating to the seawater installations of a ship used for cleaning and hygiene.^[3]

Noun

1. A member of the military medical corps.^[3][11]
2. A health worker, someone who works in the health services.^[3][12][1]
3. (in the plural) Bathroom fittings, such as the washbasin, bidet and toilet.^[12]
4. (Latin America) A toilet, especially a public one.^[13][1]

Related words

• sanidad
• sano
• Latin sānitās
• French sanitaire

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. sano
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. sanitario
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. sanitas
7. ^ 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. sanitario
8. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1843), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 9th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Francisco María Fernández, p. 655
9. ^ Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 2, 1543
10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 897
11. ^ a b Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1488
12. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. sanitario
13. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. sanitario
14. ^ a b Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959), Diccionario de mejicanismos, México: Porrúa, p. 961
15. ^ Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (2011), Diccionario de términos médicos, Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana; online at https://dtme.ranm.es, p. s.v. sanitario
16. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 957