yogui

Forms

yogui m (plural yoguis)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French yogi, according to the DHLE, and the French word is from Hindi योगी (yogī).^[2] The DLE derives the Spanish word directly from Hindi.^[3] The Hindi word is from Sanskrit योगिन् (yogin), a derivative of the word that gave yoga.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DHLE finds the first record in 1753, in the variant jogui, in Miravel y Casadevante's translation of the second volume of the Gran diccionario histórico: in India, a pilgrim who lives on alms.^[2] The sense “a Hindu who seeks spiritual union through yoga” follows in 1754, in the translation of the fifth volume of the Jesuit Cartas edificantes.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Terreros listed the word in 1787, and Domínguez in 1847 with the religious sense; the sense “wandering beggar” is rare and no longer found after the 19th century.^[2] Menéndez Pelayo (1880–1881) wrote of the yoguis or disciples of Patañjali.^[4] The adjective “of yoga” is recorded from 1918, in Roso de Luna.^[2] The modern sense, anyone who practises yoga exercises, appears in 1960 in the Madrid daily Pueblo and entered the Academy's dictionary in its 1970 supplement.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1753 – jogui, “a pilgrim of India living on alms”.^[2]
• 1754 – the sense “Hindu ascetic who seeks union through yoga”.^[2]
• 1787 – first in a dictionary, Terreros.^[2]
• 1847 – Domínguez records the religious sense.^[2]
• 1918 – first use as an adjective.^[2]
• 1935 – first record in the Americas, in Mexico.^[5]
• 1960 – the sense “person who practises yoga”.^[2]
• 1970 – the Academy admits it in a supplement to its dictionary.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A Hindu ascetic who follows the philosophical system of yoga; a yogi.^[3][2]
2. A person who practises the physical and mental exercises of yoga.^[3][1][6]

Adjective

1. Of yoga or of yogis: técnicas yoguis.^[2][7]

Related words

• yoga
• Hindi योगी (yogī)
• English yogi

Usage notes

Yogui is masculine and feminine (el yogui, la yogui).^[3] Old Spanish yogui in Berceo is a different word, a preterite of yazer “to lie”.^[8][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Real Academia Española (2013–), Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (DHLE), https://www.rae.es/dhle, p. s.v. yogui
3. ^ 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. yogui
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. yogui
5. ^ 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. yogui
6. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. yogui
7. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. yogui
8. ^ Lanchetas, Rufino (1900), Gramática y vocabulario de las obras de Gonzalo de Berceo, Madrid: Sucesores de Rivadeneyra, p. 803