tranquilo

Forms

tranquilo (feminine tranquila, masculine plural tranquilos, feminine plural tranquilas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin tranquillus (“calm, still”).^[2][3][4][1] The BDELC dates it about 1440; the DCECH cites the Marqués de Santillana, then Góngora in 1582, and finds it common in the Quijote.^[2][3] The noun tranquilidad, from tranquillitās, is also recorded about 1440.^[2][3]

The Latin adjective is perhaps formed from trāns (“across”) and the root of quiēs (“rest”).^[5][1] De Vaan finds this etymology, with a root Proto-Indo-European *kʷih₁- (“to be quiet”), vague in meaning and doubtful in sound, since the change of *-nskʷ- to -nqu- is disputed and the suffix unclear.^[6] The same Latin root gives quieto and quedo.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Marqués de Santillana, about 1440.^[3][2] The word was rare at first: the Old Spanish Textual Archive has only eleven examples, from 1484 on, and Covarrubias and Cristóbal de las Casas list only tranquilidad.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

Cervantes uses it of the sea and of a peaceful life: mar tranquilo, en paz tranquila.^[8] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as “quiet, calm, peaceful” and, by analogy, of a mind not disturbed in its peace and security.^[9] The DLE now adds a person who takes things calmly, without hurry or nerves, and does not care what others think, a sense that Moliner also records as a noun.^[4][10]

As an interjection, ¡tranquilo! means “calm down!”.^[1][10] In Venezuela tranquilo is popular for “drunk”.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1440 – first recorded, in the Marqués de Santillana, and tranquilidad about the same time.^[3][2]
• 1484 – the first record in the Old Spanish Textual Archive.^[7]
• 1582 – Góngora uses it.^[3]
• 1746 – the first record from the Americas, in Mexico.^[12]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology from Latin tranquillus.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. calm, quiet, peaceful: un pueblo tranquilo, un lago tranquilo.^[4][1]
2. Free of worry or remorse: Duermo tranquilo porque hice lo correcto.^[10][14]
3. Of a person, easygoing: taking things without hurry or nerves and not caring what others think.^[4][10]
4. (Venezuela, colloquial) drunk.^[11]

Interjection

1. ¡Tranquilo! relax, calm down!^[1][10]

Word family

• tranquilidad
• tranquilizar
• intranquilo
• tranquilizante

Related words

• quieto
• quedo
• Latin tranquillus

Usage notes

Conciencia tranquila is a clear conscience.^[4][10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tranquilo
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 708
4. ^ 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. tranquilo
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. tranquillus
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. tranquillus
7. ^ 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. tranquilo
8. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. 1108
9. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 323
10. ^ a b c d e f Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. tranquilo
11. ^ 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. tranquilo
12. ^ 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. tranquilo
13. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 1041
14. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. tranquilo