satisfacción

Forms

satisfacción f (plural satisfacciones)^[1] Old Spanish wrote satisfación or satisfaçion, a spelling Corominas finds in Berceo, Juan Ruiz and Nebrija.^[2][3] Colloquial metathesis gave sastifación, recorded in New Granada in 1539, and Corominas notes that sastifacer for the verb is very widespread.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin satisfactiō (“excuse, amends, payment”), from the verb satisfaciō (“to give satisfaction”).^[2][5][6][1] Wiktionary calls it inherited, but Corominas and DICCA-XV treat it, like satisfacer, as taken from Latin.^[1][2][6]

The Latin verb is a compound of satis (“enough”) and faciō (“to make, do”), and the OLD notes that it was often written apart; it first meant to satisfy a creditor, usually with a pledge or other substitute for payment.^[7][1] In Medieval Latin the noun was used for penance, compensation and fines.^[8] The adverb meaning “enough” goes back to *sh₂-ti- (“satiation”), the same root as satur (“well-fed”).^[9] The French and English words of the same origin are French satisfaction and English satisfaction.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The CDH's earliest record is in the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250), in the legal sense of bringing someone to make amends: ol aduga a satisfacion.^[3] In Berceo's Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos (c. 1236) it is the penance that follows contrition: guíanos que fagamos digna satisfación.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The medieval senses were legal and religious: reparation for an offence, as in the Crónica de Sahagún (que satisfaçion me quieren façer… de las ofensas), and the penance done for sins, as in a Jaca charter of 1319.^[3] Nebrija in 1495 has satisfacion dela deuda, the settling of a debt.^[6]

Autoridades (1739) put the sacramental sense first and added the reply that settles a complaint, self-satisfaction or conceit (tener mucha satisfacción de sí mismo), confidence, and the fulfilment of a wish, with the phrase a satisfacción “to one's liking”.^[11] Today the main sense is the pleasure felt when a need or wish is met, and the penitential sense comes last in the DLE.^[5][12][13] In Mexico the proverb satisfacción no pedida, acusación manifiesta says that whoever explains before being asked is probably guilty.^[14]

Timeline

• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes has satisfacion “amends”.^[3]
• c. 1236 – Berceo uses satisfación for penance.^[3][2]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin satisfactio for the settling of a debt and for amends.^[6]
• 1529 – first record in the Americas, in Nicaragua.^[4]
• 1739 – Autoridades defines the penitential, conciliatory and “conceit” senses.^[11]
• 1917 – Alemany gives the etymology from Latin satisfactio.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or effect of satisfying (satisfacer) or being satisfied.^[5]
2. satisfaction, contentment: the pleasure of having a wish or need fulfilled: Terminar la obra le dio una gran satisfacción.^[5][13][1]
3. An apology or explanation that settles a complaint or grievance.^[5]
4. Conceit, vanity.^[5]
5. Confidence, self-assurance.^[5]
6. (religion) The part of the sacrament of penance (penitencia) that consists in making up for one's sins with works of penance.^[5]

Word family

• insatisfacción

Related words

• satisfacer
• satisfactorio
• satisfecho
• asaz
• Latin satisfactiō

Usage notes

A satisfacción means “to someone's liking, fully”, and tomar satisfacción “to obtain redress for an affront”.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 370
3. ^ 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. satisfacción
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. satisfacción
6. ^ a b c d Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Segura Munguía, Santiago (2001), Nuevo diccionario etimológico latín-español y de las voces derivadas, Bilbao: Universidad de Deusto
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. s.v. satisfacción
12. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos
13. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial
14. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer
15. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1493