su

Forms

su (third person possessive of singular, plural sus)^[1] Old Spanish had su and sue beside a masculine so, with the plurals sus and sos, and the fuller sua and suo.^[2][3] Leonese documents of the 13th century write súa before the noun (súa muler, 1269).^[4]

Etymology

It is the unstressed form of suyo, used before the noun; both are inherited from Latin suus (“his, her, its own”).^[5][1][6] Corominas dates the stressed form, then súo, to the 11th century, and the reduced form to about 1140.^[6] Gómez de Silva derives it from Old Spanish sue, the feminine, from sua, which lost its second syllable before a noun; the masculine before a noun was so, and the short feminine form spread to masculine nouns on the model of the feminine.^[3] Menéndez Pidal likewise calls the Cid's form an apocope of the feminine, used mostly with feminine nouns.^[7]

Its Romance cognates include Portuguese seu, Catalan seu, Catalan son, French son, Italian suo and Romanian său.^[8] The Portuguese and Catalan forms were remade on the model of meu “my”.^[9][10] The Latin word continues *sowos, from *sewos, a derivative of *swé (“self”), and is cognate with Ancient Greek ἑός (heós).^[1][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates su to about 1140, the date of the Cantar de mio Cid, where Menéndez Pidal records it as a possessive adjective, feminine and sometimes masculine.^[6][7] The Old Spanish Textual Archive has it first in a text of 1211.^[12]

Semantic evolution

In Alfonso X's prose su is the general possessive of the third person, and de so means “of itself”.^[13] The Diccionario de Autoridades derives it from Latin suus, and Terreros notes that it is used before the noun, suyo after it.^[14][15] The Academy first called it the apocope of suyo in 1899.^[16]

Because the possessor may be él, ella, ellos, ellas, usted or ustedes, the meaning can be ambiguous, and speakers add de él, de ella or use the phrase with de instead.^[17] It also forms titles of address (Su Majestad) and, before a number, gives an approximate and often large amount.^[5][18] In Judeo-Spanish Su Mersed is a title for an old and respected man, and an ironic one for someone of little standing.^[19]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – su in the Cantar de mio Cid.^[6][7]
• 1211 – the earliest occurrence in the Old Spanish Textual Archive.^[12]
• c. 1250–1260 – the Leonese form súa in the Fuero Juzgo (por súa uoluntat).^[4]
• 1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines it as the third-person possessive.^[14]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary calls it the apocope of suyo, suya, suyos, suyas.^[16]

Meanings

Determiner

1. his, her, its, their; also your in the formal address with usted and ustedes: Ana perdió su paraguas.^[5][17][1]
2. Before the titles of high dignitaries, in forms of address: Su Majestad, Su Santidad.^[5]
3. (colloquial) Before a first name, it adds affection or emphasis: Ya llegó con su Manolo.^[5]
4. Before a number: about, some, often implying that the amount is large: Tendrá sus cuarenta años.^[18][1]

Related words

• mi
• tu
• suyo
• Latin suus
• Portuguese seu

Usage notes

The plural sus marks several things possessed, not several possessors.^[18] To avoid ambiguity, Moliner notes that de él, de ella, de usted can be repeated after the noun (su casa de usted), a usage that is becoming rare.^[17]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. su
3. ^ a b Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. su
4. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. su
5. ^ a b c d e 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. su
6. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. sexo
7. ^ a b c Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. s.v. su
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. seu
10. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 7, 883
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (2026), Old Spanish Textual Archive (OSTA): semi-paleographic transcriptions of Old Spanish texts, ed. Francisco Gago Jover et al., https://www.hispanicseminary.org, p. s.v. su
13. ^ 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. su
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, s.v. su
15. ^ 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, 535
16. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 929
17. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. su
18. ^ a b c Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. su
19. ^ Nehama, Joseph (1977), Dictionnaire du judéo-espagnol, Madrid: CSIC, p. s.v. su