areoso

Forms

areoso (feminine areosa, masculine plural areosos, feminine plural areosas, metaphonic)^[1]

Etymology

Houaiss takes it as a popular word, formed from Portuguese areia + -oso, a doublet of the learned arenoso.^[2] The Academia's dictionary, Porto Editora, Michaelis and the Wikcionário also derive it from the noun with the suffix.^[3][4][5][6] The noun itself continues Latin harēna (“sand”), whose adjective is harēnōsus (“sandy”).^[7]

Nascentes, Aurélio and Vieira derive the word directly from the Latin adjective instead: Nascentes calls it a semi-learned outcome, and Aurélio and Vieira explain it by the loss of the nasal, the medial /n/ falling as it did in the noun for sand.^[8][9][10] Cunha records both adjectives side by side from the 14th century.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest date, 1258, belongs to the place name Areosa in the Inquirições; the adjective “sandy” is dated by him and by Cunha to the 14th century.^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau sends areoso to areento and quotes the Monarchia Lusitana for terra areosa “sandy, loose soil”.^[12] Morais (1789) quotes areoso deserto from the Cerco de Diu, and Vieira (1871) says the word belonged to the poetic language of the 17th century.^[13][10] The old Aulete quotes Camões for as areosas covas deste rio.^[14] Today it is a rare synonym of arenoso: Houaiss and Aurélio mark it as little used, and Porto Editora calls it less common than arenoso.^[2][9][4]

Timeline

• 1258 – the place name Areosa in the Inquirições.^[2]
• 14th century – areoso and arenoso “sandy” first recorded.^[11][2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau refers areoso to areento.^[12]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as areiento.^[13]
• 1871 – Vieira explains it as arenoso with the medial ⟨n⟩ dropped.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (rare) sandy: containing sand or made of sand; the same as arenoso.^[2][15][1]
2. Mixed with sand.^[4]
3. Looking like sand.^[4]

Related words

• arenoso
• areento
• Latin harēnōsus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. areoso
3. ^ 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. areoso
4. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 882
5. ^ 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. areoso
6. ^ Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. areoso
7. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. arenoso
8. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. areoso
9. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. areoso
10. ^ 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, 544
11. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. areia
12. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. areoso
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, 110
14. ^ 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. areoso
15. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. areoso