abutre

Forms

abutre m (plural abutres)^[1] Old forms are auuytor and voutre (13th century), uoytor and vuytor (14th), abuter (15th), abúter (1552) and abuitre.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin vultur (“vulture”), through the Vulgar Latin accusative vulture, written Old Galician-Portuguese avuitor and Old Galician-Portuguese voutre in the oldest texts.^[2][3][4][1] Houaiss notes that the Portuguese word always has an added ⟨a-⟩: Old Galician-Portuguese abuitor, abuitre, abúter and the modern form.^[2] Nascentes reports Nunes's view that the ⟨a-⟩ is the article, joined to the noun.^[5] Aurélio counts it as a prefix.^[6] The /v/ became /b/ through a confusion common in popular Latin, and the /l/ turned into /i/, still seen in the old form with ⟨ui⟩, before the diphthong was reduced.^[7] Vieira compares the move of the ⟨r⟩ to the end of the word with enxofre from Latin sulphur.^[8]

The same Latin word is Galician voitre, Spanish buitre, French vautour, Italian avvoltoio and Romanian vultur.^[9][1] The Spanish word is recorded as Old Spanish boitre in 1098.^[10]

The OLD derives the Latin word probably from vellō (“to pluck, tear”).^[11] Wiktionary reports de Vaan's doubts about this.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cantiga d'amigo of Estêvão Coelho has Auuytor comestes, que adeuynhades “you have eaten vulture, that you can foretell”.^[4][12] Another cantiga names the bird voutre beside the bulhafre (buzzard).^[12] A place called Auuitoreira is recorded in 1220.^[4] The sense is the bird itself.^[12]

Semantic evolution

A medieval fable lists the bird with the kite and the wolf among creatures of ill fame (o minhoto, a abuter e o lobo).^[4] Morais (1789) defines it as a carrion bird, and Vieira (1871–1874) notes that in some places in Portugal it was called águia real.^[13][8] In Brazil the name is also given, improperly, to the American vultures called urubus.^[14][15] The figurative senses are pejorative: a cruel man, a usurer, and someone who waits for another's death to inherit.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 13th century – auuytor in a cantiga of Estêvão Coelho, and voutre.^[2][4]
• 14th century – uoytor and vuytor.^[3]
• 15th century – abuter in a medieval fable book.^[3][4]
• 1552 – abúter.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary has Abutre, rendered by Latin vultur.^[16][4]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as a carrion bird.^[13]
• 1871 – Vieira explains the move of the r.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. vulture, any of several large Old World birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, usually with a bare head and neck, that feed on dead animals: Os abutres pairavam sobre a carcaça.^[2][17][1]
2. (Brazil, improperly) The urubu and other New World vultures.^[15][18]
3. (figurative, pejorative) Someone who wishes another's death in order to take what they own.^[2][6]
4. (figurative, pejorative) A heartless, cruel person.^[2][17]
5. (figurative, pejorative) A miser or usurer; a speculator seeking excessive profit.^[2][17]

Word family

• abutreiro
• abutre-barbudo
• abutre-fouveiro
• abutre-do-egipto

Related words

• Latin vultur
• Galician voitre
• Spanish buitre

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. abutre
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. abutre
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. abutre
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. abutre
6. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. abutre
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 4
8. ^ a b c Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 1, 48
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 9466
10. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 693
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. vultur
12. ^ a b c Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. avuitor
13. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 1, 11
14. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda (1975), Novo dicionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, p. 38
15. ^ a b Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. abutre
16. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. abutre
17. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. abutre
18. ^ Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. abutre