artista

Forms

artista m or f by sense (plural artistas)^[1]

Etymology

Houaiss takes it as borrowed from Italian artista (“artisan; one who practises a liberal art”), recorded in Italian before 1321, and notes that some find the word already in Medieval Latin.^[2] Cunha also thinks of the Italian word, itself from Medieval Latin artista, while Machado and the DLP take it from the Medieval Latin word, perhaps through Italian.^[3][4][5] Aurélio and Michaelis analyse it as a Portuguese formation from arte and -ista, and Wiktionary allows both explanations.^[6][7][1] Vieira (1871) reports Morais's view that it came from French.^[8]

In Medieval Latin the word meant a student or graduate of the liberal arts, and a craftsman.^[9] Nocentini dates the Italian word to the late 13th century and glosses the Medieval Latin source “master of an art”.^[10] It is formed on ars (“skill, art”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to 1540.^[2] Machado's earliest quotation is from Sá de Miranda's comedy Estrangeiros, in the 16th century: Artistas debatem sempre sôbre a lã da porca “artists are forever arguing about the sow's wool”, where Morais later read artista as a student who has completed the arts course of grammar, rhetoric and philosophy.^[4][12] Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 renders it artifex, “craftsman”.^[13]

Semantic evolution

The early dictionaries define an artista as someone practising a craft: Barbosa (1611) as “one who exercises some art”, Bluteau (1712–1728) as “skilled in some art”, with obra artista for a work made with great skill.^[14][15] Morais (1789) adds the adjective sense “crafty, cunning”.^[12] Vieira (1871) calls the senses “craftsman” and “student of the arts” obsolete, and records artista in slang for a rowdy, a fado singer or a reveller.^[8] Figueiredo (1899) still gives “workman” as a popular sense beside “one who cultivates the liberal arts”.^[11] The modern senses centre on the fine arts and the performing arts.^[2] Brazilian informal speech also uses the word for a trickster, a dreamer or someone who knows how to enjoy life.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1321 – Italian artista.^[2]
• 1540 – Houaiss's first date for the Portuguese word.^[2]
• 16th century – Sá de Miranda's Estrangeiros speaks of artistas arguing.^[4]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders artista with Latin artifex.^[13]
• 1611 – Barbosa defines it as one who exercises some art.^[14]
• 1620 – a private letter uses artista.^[16]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records obra artista “a skilful work”.^[15]
• 1789 – Morais gives “craftsman”, “student of the arts” and the adjective “crafty”.^[12]
• 1871 – Vieira notes the slang senses and calls the two old senses obsolete.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An artist, a person who practises one of the fine arts, especially as a profession.^[2][6][17]
2. A person with a feeling or taste for the arts: Desde criança mostrou ser uma artista.^[2][6]
3. A performer, an actor or actress of theatre, cinema, television or radio; a circus or fairground performer.^[2][6]
4. A person who is outstanding at his or her trade.^[2][17]
5. A craftsman, a skilled workman.^[2][5]
6. (Brazil, informal) A trickster, someone who takes nothing seriously; also a daydreamer, or someone who knows how to enjoy life.^[2]

Adjective

1. Having a feeling or taste for art.^[2][5]
2. Talented, ingenious; also crafty, cunning.^[2][17]

Related words

• arte
• artífice
• Latin ars

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. artista
3. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. arte
4. ^ a b c Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. artista
5. ^ 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. artista
6. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. artista
7. ^ 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. artista
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, 595
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. artista
10. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. artista
11. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 136
12. ^ a b c 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, 126
13. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. artista
14. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. artista
15. ^ 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. artista
16. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. artista
17. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 975