cabreiro

Forms

cabreiro m (plural cabreiros, feminine cabreira, feminine plural cabreiras)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin caprārius (“goatherd; of goats”), which Houaiss, Aulete, the DLP and Aurélio give as the source.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Cunha also derives it from the Latin word.^[6] By surface analysis it is cabra with the suffix -eiro, and Vieira, Figueiredo and Michaelis present it as that Portuguese formation.^[7][8][9][1]

The same Latin word is Galician cabreiro, Spanish cabrero, Catalan cabrer, French chevrier, Italian capraio and Romanian căprar.^[10][11][1] The Latin noun is formed from caper (“goat”) with the suffix -ārius.^[12][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest date for the word, 1115, is taken from Machado and refers to the form kabreiro; his next record is cabreiro in 1562, followed by cabreyro in 1672.^[2] Cardoso's Portuguese–Latin dictionary of 1569 translates it with Latin caprarius, in the sense “goatherd”.^[13]

Semantic evolution

The dictionaries from Cardoso to Morais know only the goatherd, “one who keeps goats”.^[13][14][15] The old Caldas Aulete adds the adjective for a goat's-milk cheese and the figurative “lively, sharp”, and gives a popular sense “sly, sneaky” from Paraíba in Brazil.^[3] Houaiss explains the figurative sense as someone who works with care, speed and efficiency.^[2] In colloquial Brazilian Portuguese the adjective came to mean “distrustful, wary”, and Wiktionary also records “astonished”.^[5][9][1]

Timeline

• 1115 – Houaiss's earliest date, for the form kabreiro, after Machado.^[2]
• 1562 – cabreiro in Houaiss's historical forms.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary lists Cabreiro with Latin caprarius.^[13]
• 1672 – the spelling cabreyro.^[2]
• 1712 – Bluteau defines it as the shepherd who keeps goats.^[14]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as one who keeps goats.^[15]
• 1813 – Cunha's date for the word.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A goatherd, someone who tends goats.^[2][5][1]
2. An active, hard-working person.^[5][4]

Adjective

1. Relating to goats; tending goats.^[2][16]
2. Of a cheese: made of goat's milk, as a sharp cheese of the Ribatejo in Portugal: queijo cabreiro.^[5][17]
3. (figurative) Sharp, quick-witted and efficient.^[2][5]
4. (Brazil, popular) Sly, cunning, sneaky.^[5][9]
5. (Brazil, popular) Distrustful, wary, on one's guard: Depois do susto, ficou cabreiro com o vizinho.^[5][9][1]

Related words

• cabra
• Latin capra
• Spanish cabrero

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. cabreiro
3. ^ a b 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. cabreiro
4. ^ a b 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. cabreiro
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. cabreiro
6. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. cabreiro
7. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 14
8. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 221
9. ^ a b c d 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. cabreiro
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1648
11. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. caprarius
12. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. caprārius
13. ^ a b c Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. cabreiro
14. ^ 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. cabreiro
15. ^ 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, 207
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. cabreiro
17. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1606