someter

Forms

someter (first-person singular present someto, first-person singular preterite sometí, past participle sometido)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin submittō (“to lower; to put under, subject”).^[2][3][1][4] The Latin verb is formed sub- (“under”) + mittō (“to let go, send”), matching Spanish so- + meter.^[5][1][6]

The same Latin verb is Portuguese someter, Occitan sometre, Italian sommettere and Romanian sumete (“to roll up”); French soumettre and Catalan sotmetre have another prefix.^[7] The learned sumiso and sumisión come from the participle of the same verb.^[2]

De Vaan derives the simple verb from Proto-Indo-European *m(e)ith₂- (“to exchange, remove”): the sense moved from “exchange” to “give” and then to “let go, send”.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates it to 1220–1250, in Berceo's Milagros: Solo en someterllo serie grant osadia, “even to put him under [hell] would be great daring”.^[2][9] The first CDH record not known only from a later copy is Herman the German's Psalter (c. 1240–1272): Sometió los pueblos a nós, “He subdued the peoples under us”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The Fuero Juzgo (c. 1250–1260) used sometidos for a ruler's subjects, and Alfonso X's Partidas (1256–1263) for a church placed under another.^[10][11] The General estoria (1280) uses it for conquering nations.^[11] Covarrubias (1611) glossed it “to subject” and linked it with sumisión “humility”.^[12] The Diccionario de Autoridades (1739) had only “to subject and humble”.^[13]

The sense “to put forward for someone's consideration” is found in Lima in 1553, of bread sometido to the town for testing, and in Santo Domingo in 1857 (someter al Señor Ministro el siguiente informe).^[14] The DLE now also has “to make someone or something undergo an action”, as in a test or treatment.^[3]

Timeline

• 1220–1250 – Berceo's Milagros has someterllo.^[2][9]
• c. 1240–1272 – Herman the German's Psalter has sometió.^[10]
• c. 1250–1260 – the Fuero Juzgo uses sometidos for subjects.^[10]
• 1256–1263 – Alfonso X's Primera Partida uses it for a church placed under another.^[10][11]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija gives Latin submitto and summitto.^[15][16]
• 1553 – first record from the Americas, in Lima.^[14]
• 1611 – Covarrubias glosses it “to subject”.^[12]
• 1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it “to subject and humble”.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology, Latin submittere from sub and mittere.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, also reflexive) To subdue or humble a person, troop or faction.^[3][1]
2. (transitive) To conquer and pacify a people or province.^[3][1]
3. (transitive) To subordinate one's own judgement or wishes to someone else's.^[3][1]
4. (transitive) To submit ideas or reasons for someone's consideration: Sometieron el plan al consejo.^[3][1]
5. (transitive) To refer a matter or lawsuit to someone for decision.^[3]
6. (transitive, also reflexive) To make someone or something undergo an action: Lo sometieron a varias pruebas..^[3][1]

Word family

• sometimiento

Related words

• meter
• sumisión
• sumiso
• Latin submittō
• Portuguese someter
• English submit

Usage notes

It takes a before what one submits to: someterse a la ley.^[1][17]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. meter
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. someter
4. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. someter
5. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. someter
6. ^ 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. 988
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. submittere
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. s.v. someter
10. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. someter
11. ^ 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. someter
12. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1306
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 149
14. ^ 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. someter
15. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 418
16. ^ 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, p. s.v. someter
17. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. someter