tanto

Forms

tanto m sg (feminine singular tanta, masculine plural tantos, feminine plural tantas, superlative tantísimo)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish tanto, inherited from Latin tantus (“so great, so much”).^[2][3][4][1] Corominas notes that the word is used at all periods and is common to all the Romance languages, so that the study of its uses belongs to grammar.^[2] The noun in the sense “counter” is the same word; the Latin neuter tantum was already used as a noun meaning “this quantity”.^[2][5]

The same Latin word is Portuguese tanto, Galician tanto, Asturian tantu, Catalan tant, Occitan tan, French tant and Italian tanto.^[6][7][8]

The Latin adjective is formed from tam (“so”) in the same way as quantus from its stem.^[9] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *tānto- and Proto-Indo-European *teh₂-nt-o-, a type of adjective in *-nt- built on pronominal stems;^[10][1] Wiktionary mentions the same alternative.^[10][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) already uses tanto as an adjective meaning “so much, so great”, often “very much”, and as an adverb with a correlative clause: „yo tanto uos quería” “I loved you so much”.^[11][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the prose of Alfonso X the word marks an indefinite amount, a large amount (“so great”), a set number, and, with cuanto or como, equality.^[12] The noun tanto “counter for reckoning” is in Nebrija.^[2] Autoridades defines the noun as a fixed quantity or number of something, quoting Mármol's les dan un tanto cada año “they give them a fixed sum each year”.^[13] Terreros adds the senses “copy of a document” and “counter in a game”.^[14] Salvá records tanto “blow” as colloquial,^[15] and Alemany's dictionary of 1917 has “unit of count in games” and the plural for an unstated number, as in mil y tantos duros “a thousand-odd duros”.^[16] From the unit of count comes the modern sense “point, goal” in sport.^[17][1]

In Puerto Rico tanto is also a hug in which the cheeks touch.^[18][19] In Latin America the noun can mean “portion”.^[1] The derivative tantear meant “to grope” in one passage of Berceo and “to reckon, estimate” from 1490; the sense “to grope” is now mainly American.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses the adjective and the adverb.^[11][3]
• 1200 – the compound también appears in a charter.^[2][3]
• early 13th century – tampoco appears in the Tres Reyes.^[2]
• c. 1290 – entretanto appears in the Primera crónica general.^[2][3]
• 1490 – tantear “to reckon” in Alonso de Palencia.^[2][3]
• 1513 – Nebrija glosses tanto with Latin tantus and tantulus.^[20]
• 1525 – the first records from the Americas, in Mexico City.^[21]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades defines the noun “fixed quantity”.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology “Del lat. tantus” and the pronoun use.^[22]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (comparative, with como or cuanto) As much, as many: Tiene tantos libros como su hermano.^[4][1]
2. So much, so many, often before a clause of result: Había tanto ruido que no oímos nada.^[4][1]
3. (demonstrative) That much, that many, equal to an amount already mentioned.^[4]
4. (in the plural, after a multiple of ten) And some, -odd: Llegaron sesenta y tantos invitados.^[4]
5. (colloquial, with a singular noun) So many: Con tanto coche no hay donde aparcar.^[4]

Pronoun

1. As much, as many, so much, so many, referring to a noun already mentioned or understood.^[4]
2. (neuter) So much, so many things: Ha viajado tanto que ya nada le sorprende.^[4][23]

Adverb

1. So much, to such a degree: No comas tanto.^[17][1]
2. So long: No tardes tanto.^[17]
3. (with como or cuanto) As much: Trabaja tanto como su padre.^[17][23]
4. (with como) Both … and: tanto en verano como en invierno.^[1]

Noun

1. A certain amount or number, unspecified.^[4]
2. A rate, proportion: tanto por ciento “percentage”.^[4]
3. A copy of a written document.^[4][1]
4. A counter or chip used to keep score in games.^[4][1]
5. A point or goal in a game.^[17][1]
6. (Latin America) A portion.^[1]
7. (Puerto Rico) A hug given with the cheeks touching.^[18]

Word family

• tantear
• tantico
• entretanto
• también
• tampoco

Related words

• tan
• tal
• Latin tantus
• Portuguese tanto

Usage notes

Before adjectives and adverbs the word is shortened to tan (tan grande, tan bien), except before más, menos, mayor, menor, mejor and peor.^[4] The origin of tan is disputed: it may continue Latin tam, as Meyer-Lübke allowed, or be tantum shortened before another word, as Ascoli, Hanssen and Rohlfs preferred;^[2][3] Corominas finds neither view decisive, and the BDELC favours the shortening.^[2][3] Set phrases include al tanto “informed, up to date” and otro tanto “the same”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 407
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tanto
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. tanto
5. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. tanto
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 8562
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. tantus
8. ^ 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. 8, 272
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b Menéndez Pidal, Ramón (1908–1911), Cantar de Mio Cid: texto, gramática y vocabulario, 3 vols., Madrid: Bailly-Baillière, p. 454
12. ^ 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. tanto
13. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 222
14. ^ 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, 582
15. ^ Salvá, Vicente (1846), Nuevo diccionario de la lengua castellana, París: Librería de Don Vicente Salvá, p. 1032
16. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1558
17. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. tanto
18. ^ 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. tanto
19. ^ Academia Puertorriqueña de la Lengua Española; Universidad de Puerto Rico, Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, https://tesoro.pr, p. s.v. tanto
20. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 420
21. ^ 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. tanto
22. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 1008
23. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tanto