celeiro

Forms

celeiro m (plural celeiros)^[1] Old forms are celleiro (in a Latin charter of 1032), çeleyro (1265), celeiro and celeyro (13th century) and cilleyro (about 1370).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cellārium (“storeroom, pantry”), written Old Galician-Portuguese çeleyro in 1265.^[2][3][1] The Latin noun is formed from cella (“store, larder”) with the suffix -ārium.^[1][4]

The same Latin word is Galician celeiro, Spanish cillero, Catalan celler, Occitan celièr, French cellier and Italian cellaio.^[5][1] García de Diego notes the Asturian cellero “granary” beside the Spanish word for a storeroom.^[6]

The origin of the Latin noun is uncertain: de Vaan sets up Proto-Italic forms such as *kēlā- and considers a link with *ḱel- (“to hide, cover”), while Wiktionary traces it to that root more confidently.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Latin charters name cellaria among the buildings of an estate in 867 and cellarios domos in 924, and Houaiss's first date, 1032, is also from a Latin text.^[7][2] The vernacular spelling çeleyro is recorded in 1265.^[2] In a cantiga d'escarnho by Johan Airas the speaker goes da cas[a] ao celeiro “from the house to the granary”.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The word has always meant a building where grain and other provisions are stored.^[2][3] Bluteau heads it with the old spelling celleiro.^[9] By extension it came to mean a region or country that produces much grain, and figuratively an abundant source of anything, people or things.^[2]

Timeline

• 867 – cellaria in a Latin charter.^[7]
• 1032 – celleiro in a Latin charter.^[2]
• 1265 – first vernacular record, çeleyro.^[2]
• 13th century – celeiro in a cantiga d'escarnho by Johan Airas.^[7]
• c. 1370 – the variant cilleyro.^[2]
• c. 1430 – first occurrence in the CTA corpus, in the Horto do Esposo.^[10]
• 1813 – first record of celeireiro.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A granary or barn: a farm building where grain, fodder or straw are stored; tulha, paiol.^[2][11][1]
2. A store of provisions.^[2][11]
3. A region or country that produces much grain: the granaries of the world.^[2]
4. (figurative) An abundant source of something.^[2]

Word family

• celeireiro

Related words

• cela
• Latin cellārium
• Galician celeiro
• Spanish cillero

Usage notes

Aurélio refers the reader to the homophone seleiro.^[11]

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. celeiro
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. celeiro
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1804
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. cellarium
7. ^ a b c d Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. celeiro
8. ^ Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. celeiro
9. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. celeiro
10. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. celeiro
11. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. celeiro