atividade

Forms

atividade f (plural atividades)^[1] Until the spelling reforms (1943 in Brazil, 1990 in Portugal) the word was written actividade.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin āctīvitās (“active meaning; activity”), first recorded in 1612 and spelt ⟨actividade⟩.^[2][1][3][4] Wiktionary takes it from Medieval Latin, and Nascentes calls it semi-learned.^[1][5] Machado notes that the Latin noun is already used by the grammarian Probus in the sense “active meaning”.^[6]

The Latin noun is formed from āctīvus (“active”) with the suffix -tās.^[1][2] The scholastic philosophers used it for the power of acting.^[7]

The same Latin word is Galician actividade, Catalan activitat, French activité and Italian attività.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Machado quotes the word from Frei António Feio's Tratado das Festas, which he dates to the 16th century: Sois hum sol, que ninguém póde esconder, quando muito chegarão a esféra da vossa actividade pera outra parte “You are a sun that no one can hide; at most they will move the sphere of your activity elsewhere”.^[6] Houaiss's first date is 1612.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau's dictionary defines actividade as the natural force and vigour of a thing, even without a soul, as in the activity of fire or of a poison.^[8] Folqman (1755) adds the natural quickness and liveliness of a person.^[9] Morais (1789) gives “the quality of being active” and “force, vigour, promptness”.^[10] Vieira notes that in physics the manifestations of the activity of matter are called forces.^[11]

Modern Portuguese uses the word above all for a specific kind of work or occupation, for an organized pastime outside school, and in physics for optical activity and radioactivity.^[2][12][13]

Timeline

• 16th century – Machado's first quotation, from the Tratado das Festas.^[6]
• 1612 – Houaiss's first date, spelt actividade.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as the natural force of a thing.^[8]
• 1755 – Folqman adds a person's natural quickness.^[9]
• 1788 – first record of inatividade, spelt inactividade.^[14]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as the quality of being active.^[10]
• 1823 – actividade in a private letter.^[15]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira records the use in physics.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being active (ativo).^[2][4][16]
2. The capacity to act, move or do things.^[2][12]
3. The exercise of that capacity; action, energy: Aos oitenta anos continua cheio de atividade.^[2][4]
4. A specific kind of work or function; an occupation: a atividade pesqueira.^[2][4][16]
5. A natural process: a atividade cardíaca.^[2]
6. An organized pastime or study outside school: atividades extracurriculares.^[2]
7. Bustle, busy movement.^[2][4]
8. (physics) The property of rotating the plane of polarization of light; the rate of disintegration of a radioactive substance.^[12][13]
9. (philosophy) The condition of a being that acts freely, as opposed to passivity.^[2]

Word family

• inatividade

Related words

• ativo
• Latin activitas

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. atividade
3. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. atividade
4. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. atividade
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. atividade
6. ^ a b c Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. actividade
7. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre, p. s.v. activitas
8. ^ 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. actividade
9. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. actividade
10. ^ 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, 23
11. ^ a b 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, 130
12. ^ 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. atividade
13. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1068
14. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. inatividade
15. ^ 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. atividade
16. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. atividade