anular

anular¹ to annul

Etymology tree of anular¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin nūllus

French nul

Italian nulla

Italian nullo

English null

Latin annūllō

Italian annullare

Old French anuller

Portuguese anular

Spanish anular

Pronunciation

• Brazil: /a.nuˈla(ʁ)/, [a.nuˈla(h)]^[1]
• São-Paulo: /a.nuˈla(ɾ)/^[1]
• Rio-de-Janeiro: /a.nuˈla(ʁ)/, [a.nuˈla(χ)]^[1]
• Caipira: /a.nuˈla(ɻ)/^[1]

Forms

anular (first-person singular present anulo, first-person singular preterite anulei, past participle anulado)^[1] The first record is spelt anullar; the etymological spelling annullar is that of the older texts.^[2][3]

Etymology

The word for “to annul” is borrowed from Late Latin annullō (“to reduce to nothing, annihilate”), a verb of Church Latin.^[2][4][5][1] The Latin verb is formed on nullus (“no, none”) with the prefix ad-, and the Vulgate already uses it in the sense “bring to nothing”.^[6][1] In Medieval Latin it also meant “to invalidate”.^[7] Nascentes considers the Portuguese word a semi-learned borrowing.^[8] He gives a second analysis in the fuller edition of his dictionary, as formed within the language from Portuguese a- + nulo + -ar, and Michaelis analyses it the same way.^[9][10] The Academy's dictionary likewise derives Spanish anular from nulo (“null”).^[11] The original Caldas Aulete took the verb in the sense “annihilate” from annihilō, and noted that older authors spell it ⟨anihilar⟩.^[12]

The verb is found in other Romance languages as French annuler, Italian annullare and Catalan anul·lar.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the verb to 1402, in the spelling anullar, from Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese.^[2] Machado quotes the present participle from a text of 1516: ou com decretos annullantes “or with annulling decrees”.^[3] The first sense is the legal one, to make void.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Pereira's Thesouro of 1697 renders the verb with Latin abrogō, antīquō and convellō.^[13] The modern dictionaries keep the legal sense, to declare a contract, sentence or vote void, and widen it to cancelling the effect of anything, destroying or wiping out, and making someone or something seem insignificant.^[2][4][12] The reflexive anular-se means to become void, or of a person to efface oneself.^[2][10] In Brazilian sports language the Aulete Digital records “to beat soundly”, of a team.^[12]

Timeline

• 1402 – first record, spelt anullar.^[2]
• 1516 – the present participle annullantes.^[3][2]
• 1697 – Pereira's Thesouro lists the verb.^[13]
• 1881 – the original Caldas Aulete derives it from Latin annihilare.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make null or without effect; to annul, invalidate: O tribunal anulou a venda da casa.^[2][4][1]
2. (law) To declare a legal act void.^[2][5]
3. To cancel or neutralise the effect of something.^[12][4][1]
4. To make insignificant, to overshadow.^[2][4]
5. To destroy, wipe out.^[2][12]
6. (reflexive) To become void or useless; of a person, to efface oneself.^[4][10]

Word family

• anulação
• anulável
• anulador
• anulante
• anulamento

anular² ring-shaped

Pronunciation

• Brazil: /a.nuˈlaʁ/, [a.nuˈlah]^[1]
• São-Paulo: /a.nuˈlaɾ/^[1]
• Rio-de-Janeiro: /a.nuˈlaʁ/, [a.nuˈlaχ]^[1]
• Caipira: /a.nuˈlaɻ/^[1]

Forms

anular m or f (plural anulares)^[1]

Etymology

The word for “ring-shaped” is borrowed from Latin anularis (“of a ring”), from anulus (“ring”).^{[2][5][14][15][1]} Cunha gives the Latin form as annularius.^[16] Nascentes instead explains it as formed on the Latin noun with the suffix -ar.^[8] Cunha lists the adjective under anel, whose family it belongs to.^[16]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is from 1616, spelt annullar, and Cunha gives the same year.^[2][16] Machado, following an older dictionary, places it in the 15th century.^[3] Bluteau's dictionary (1712–1728) has it in dedo annular “ring finger”.^[17]

Semantic evolution

Silva Bastos (1912) and Figueiredo define it as ring-shaped and belonging to a ring.^[14][15] The noun anular, the ring finger, is a shortening of dedo anular.^[2] Aurélio adds technical senses in botany, for the ring of the sporangia of ferns and for a ring-shaped embryo, and compounds such as eclipse anular.^[4]

Timeline

• 1616 – first record, spelt annullar.^[2][16]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau lists dedo annular.^[17]
• 1899 – Figueiredo defines it as ring-shaped.^[15]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a ring.^[2][18]
2. Ring-shaped, annular: uma mancha anular na pele.^[2][5][1]
3. Of the finger on which a ring is worn.^[4][18]

Noun

1. The ring finger, short for dedo anular.^[2][4][10]