artesão

artesão¹ artisan

Pronunciation

• Brazil: /aʁ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [ah.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• São-Paulo: /aɾ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aɾ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• Rio-de-Janeiro: /aʁ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aχ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• Caipira: /aɻ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aɻ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]

Forms

artesão m (plural artesãos, feminine artesã, feminine plural artesãs)^[1] Houaiss records the 15th-century plural artesaãos.^[2] The feminine is artesã.^[1][3]

Etymology

The word for the craftsman is borrowed from Italian artigiano, according to Houaiss, Wiktionary, Aurélio and Nascentes.^[2][1][3][4] Houaiss compares French artisan.^[2] Machado derives it from the French word, itself from the Italian, and the DLP leaves the choice open between Italian and French.^[5][6] Vieira thought that its use in the comic language of Gil Vicente pointed to a French origin.^[7]

The Italian word, recorded from the 15th century, goes back through an earlier form to Vulgar Latin *artītiānus, from artītus (“skilled”), itself from ars (“art, skill”).^[8][1] The DHLF describes the French word, first cited in 1409 as a Genoese word, as an oral borrowing of the Italian word.^[9] Spanish artesano is also from Italian.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Machado's first record is 15th-century: Porque assi como o artesão obra com sua ferramenta “for just as the artisan works with his tools”.^[5] Houaiss also dates the word to the 15th century.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Machado notes that the Castilian form artesano entered Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century, and quotes it from a book of 1608.^[5] The 19th-century dictionaries treat artesão as old: Vieira marks it as obsolete and explains it as a contraction of artesano, and Figueiredo (1899) gives it as an old word for artífice.^[7][11] Modern dictionaries define it as a person who practises a manual craft, often in his own workshop, and the DLP adds the economic sense of one who makes and sells his own products.^[2][6][12]

Timeline

• 15th century – first records, among them the plural artesaãos.^[2][5]
• 16th century, second half – the Castilian form artesano enters Portuguese.^[5]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira marks artesão as obsolete.^[7]
• 1899 – Figueiredo lists it as an old synonym of artífice.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. An artisan or craftsman, a person who practises a manual art or trade: Os artesãos da aldeia fazem cestos de vime.^{[2][3][12][1]}
2. A craftsman who works on his own account in his own workshop, making and selling his own products.^{[2][3][6][12]}
3. (figurative) A person who advances step by step, with method and care, in a difficult task.^[13]

Word family

• artesanato
• artesanal

artesão² ceiling panel

Pronunciation

• Brazil: /aʁ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [ah.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• São-Paulo: /aɾ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aɾ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• Rio-de-Janeiro: /aʁ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aχ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]
• Caipira: /aɻ.teˈzɐ̃w̃/, [aɻ.teˈzɐ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]

Forms

artesão m (plural artesãos or artesões)^[1] The plural is artesões^[3][14]; Priberam also allows artesãos.^[12]

Etymology

The word for the panel is probably borrowed from Spanish artesón, according to Houaiss and Wiktionary.^[2][1] The Spanish word, recorded from 1547, is an augmentative of artesa (“kneading trough”), so called from the likeness of the sunken panel to a trough seen from outside.^[15][16] Aurélio, Michaelis and Nascentes form it in Portuguese from artesa with the suffix -ão, and the DLP from the Castilian word with the same suffix.^{[3][17][4][6]}

The origin of the trough word is disputed: some derive it from Ancient Greek ἄρτος (ártos, “bread”), which Corominas rejects in favour of a pre-Roman word, comparing Basque artesi (“crack, hole”).^[18][19][16]

Timeline

• 1547 – first record of Spanish artesón.^[15]
• 1651 – Houaiss's first date for the Portuguese word.^[2]
• 1693 – Spanish artesonado is first recorded.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. (architecture) A square or many-sided panel framed by mouldings, often with a rosette in the centre, used to decorate ceilings, vaults and arches; a coffer.^{[2][3][14][1]}