vengador

Forms

vengador m (plural vengadores, feminine vengadora, feminine plural vengadoras)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Spanish vengar + -dor: Corominas lists it among the derivatives of the verb.^[2][3][1] The DLE derives it directly from Latin vindicātor, and Wiktionary from its Late Latin accusative.^[4][1] The learned doublet is vindicador.^[2]

The verb is from Latin vindicō (“to claim; to set free; to avenge”).^[2][3] According to Wiktionary the Latin verb is from vindex (“defender, protector”).^[1] The OLD explains it from vim (“force”), in the accusative, and dīcō (“to say”).^[5]

The corresponding words in the other Romance languages are Catalan venjador, French vengeur, Italian vendicatore and Portuguese vingador.^[6][1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DEMel's first records are from about 1250, in the Bocados de oro and the Vidal Mayor.^[8] Alfonso X's Estoria de España (1270–1284) uses the feminine as an adjective, of the grace of Jesus Christ vengadora de la porfia “that avenges obstinacy”, which saved the prince Alfonso.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Corominas's first record is Nebrija's dictionary of 1495, which gives Latin ultor and vindicator.^[2][3][10] Covarrubias in 1611 noted that Vengador was the title given to King Alfonso XI, because he took revenge on those who angered him and pardoned no one.^[11] The Diccionario de Autoridades defined it as one who avenges or takes revenge, quoting Quevedo's vengador gusano “avenging worm” of conscience.^[12] Terreros added that the Romans gave Jupiter the surname “Avenger”.^[13]

The Academy entered it as a noun in 1817 and as an adjective that may be used as a noun from 1884.^[14][15] Today the adjective is also said of what is typical of an avenger, as an avenging spirit or instinct.^[16]

Timeline

• c. 1250 – DEMel's first records, in the Bocados de oro and the Vidal Mayor.^[8]
• 1270–1284 – Alfonso X's Estoria de España uses vengadora as an adjective.^[9]
• 1495 – Nebrija's dictionary, Corominas's first record.^[3]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records Vengador as the title of Alfonso XI.^[11]
• 1623 – first record in the Americas, in Tierra Firme: el castigo del cielo vengador de los ynocentes.^[17]
• 1884 – the Academy's dictionary treats it as an adjective also used as a noun.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That avenges or takes revenge; also as a noun, an avenger: Se presentó como el vengador de su hermano.^[4][1][18]
2. Typical of someone who seeks revenge: un odio vengador.^[16]

Related words

• vengar
• venganza
• vengativo
• vindicador
• Latin vindicator

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 770
3. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vengar
4. ^ a b 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. vengador
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. venjador
7. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. vingador
8. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. vengador
9. ^ a b 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. vengador
10. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 429
11. ^ 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. 1378
12. ^ Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 445
13. ^ 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, 771
14. ^ Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 883
15. ^ 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. 1078
16. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. vengador
17. ^ 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. vengador
18. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. vengador