superstición

Forms

superstición f (plural supersticiones)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin superstitiō (“excessive religious awe; superstition”).^[2][3][4][1] Corominas dates it to about 1440; the CDH has it from 1385, in Juan Fernández de Heredia.^[3][4][5][6]

Corominas gives the Latin word the proper sense “survival” and derives it from superstō (“to stand over; to survive”).^[4][3] Wiktionary also forms it from that verb, while the OLD derives it from superstes (“standing over; surviving”) and suggests that its first sense may have been “a state of religious exaltation”.^[1][7] Lewis and Short take the original meaning to be a standing still over something, hence amazement and dread of the supernatural.^[8] The verb and the adjective are built on super- (“over”) and stō (“to stand”).^[9][10][11] Vox counts it in the family of estar.^[12]

The same Latin word is Portuguese superstição, Catalan superstició, French superstition and Italian superstizione.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest CDH hits are a translation of Isidore's History of the Goths (before 1385) speaks of supersticion de ydolatria “the superstition of idolatry”, and Juan Fernández de Heredia's Gran crónica de España (1385) has alguna superstiçion.^[5] The sense is already the religious one: worship or belief outside the true faith.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the word was used chiefly in religious and moral writing for magical practices and vain beliefs: Enrique de Villena's treatise on the evil eye (1422–1425) names superstiçión among the ways of fascination, and the Tostado (1437) warns against vanas superstiçiones.^[5] Nebrija's Latin–Spanish dictionary of 1492 glossed Latin superstitio as false religion.^[6] The adjective supersticioso followed in 1569, in Ercilla.^[3][4]

The Academy's 1899 dictionary defined it as a belief foreign to religious faith and contrary to reason, the definition the DLE keeps; the DLE also gives a second sense, an excessive faith in or valuation of something.^[17][2] Moliner notes that the word is generally pejorative.^[18]

Timeline

• before 1385 – a translation of Isidore's History of the Goths has supersticion de ydolatria.^[5]
• 1385 – Juan Fernández de Heredia's Gran crónica de España.^[5]
• 1422–1425 – Enrique de Villena's Tratado de fascinación.^[5][6]
• c. 1440 – the date Corominas gives for the first record.^[3][4]
• 1490 – Alfonso de Palencia's Universal vocabulario.^[3]
• 1492 – Nebrija glosses Latin superstitio as false religion.^[6]
• 1569 – first record of supersticioso, in Ercilla.^[3][4]
• 1636 – first record from the Americas, in Potosí.^[19]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology and the modern definition.^[17]

Meanings

Noun

1. superstition: a belief foreign to religious faith and contrary to reason, such as attributing magical powers or good and bad luck to certain things or acts: Muchos marineros conservan la superstición de no zarpar en martes.^[2][20][1]
2. Excessive faith in or valuation of something: la superstición del dinero.^[2]

Word family

• supersticioso

Related words

• estar
• Latin superstitiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. superstición
3. ^ 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. 2, 776
4. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. superstición
5. ^ a b c d e f g Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. superstición
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, p. s.v. superstición
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. superstitiō
8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. superstitio
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. superstes
10. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. superstición
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. superstición
13. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. 3187
14. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. superstició
15. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. superstition
16. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 413
17. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 935
18. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. superstición
19. ^ 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. superstición
20. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. s.v. superstición