bebé

Forms

bebé m or f by sense (plural bebés)^[1] bebé is the European spelling, pronounced /bɛˈbɛ/, while Brazil writes and says bebê, /beˈbe/.^[2][3][1] Machado notes the Brazilian form bebeco.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bébé (“baby”).^[4][5][6][2] Machado and Cunha explain the French word as the nickname of a famous dwarf (1739–1764) at the court of Stanisław Leszczyński, and add that the English word baby helped spread it; they consider the word onomatopoeic, from children's speech.^[4][5] Nascentes instead takes it from the English word through French.^[7]

The DHLF calls it a French onomatopoeic formation related to dialect words such as bibi, first recorded about 1755, which in the 19th century also served as a French version of the English borrowing.^[8] It confirms that the first use was as a pet name, given by King Stanisław to his dwarf Nicolas Ferry.^[8] Houaiss calls the French word's origin disputed, perhaps onomatopoeic.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first date, 1877, is the word's entry in the 7th edition of Morais's dictionary, so it is only a date by which the word was in use; he dates the spelling bebé to the 19th century.^[6][9] Cunha dates bebê to 1899.^[5] The original Caldas Aulete defines it as a small child, a babe in arms, and derives it from English baby through French.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Beside the newborn or small child, the word is used for a young animal and, in European Portuguese, as an adjective for childish or immature behaviour.^[11][3] In Brazil bebê is also a term of endearment, and bebê de proveta is a child conceived by in-vitro fertilisation.^[6][12] Portugal's ILTEC list of foreign words gives bebé as the adapted form of English baby.^[13]

Timeline

• 1755 – first record of French bébé.^[8][6]
• 1877 – the 7th edition of Morais's dictionary lists the word.^[6]
• 1899 – Cunha's first date for bebê.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A baby; a newborn or very young child: O bebé dormiu a tarde toda.^{[11][2][3][1]}
2. A newborn or very young animal.^[11][3][6]
3. An affectionate way of addressing a loved one.^[6]

Adjective

1. Childish, immature.^[11][3]

Related words

• French bébé
• English baby

Usage notes

The noun is masculine or feminine according to the child's sex.^[9][11][1] Estar à espera de bebé means “to be pregnant”.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. bebé
3. ^ a b c d e Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1321
4. ^ a b c Machado, José Pedro (1987), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., 5 vols., Lisboa: Livros Horizonte, p. s.v. bebé
5. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. bebê
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. bebê
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 66
8. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. bébé
9. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. bebé
10. ^ 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. bebê
11. ^ a b c d e f 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. bebé
12. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. bebê
13. ^ ILTEC – Instituto de Linguística Teórica e Computacional, Portal da Língua Portuguesa, http://www.portaldalinguaportuguesa.org, p. s.v. baby