coentro

Forms

coentro m (plural coentros)^[1] Houaiss lists coendro as another form.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin coriandrum (“coriander”), in a popular development, probably through the dissimilated form coliandrum.^[2][3][1] Houaiss reconstructs the steps *colandro, *coandro and then coendro and the modern form, and notes that in popular Portuguese words before the 16th century endings in -entro and -endro are much commoner than in -antro and -andro.^[2] Nascentes explains that the first r became l by dissimilation and then fell between vowels, while the d became t for no clear reason.^[3] Corominas compares the instability of the ending -ndro in other words, such as tolontro beside tolondro.^[4]

The same Latin word is Spanish culantro (first recorded about 1100), Galician coandro, Catalan celiàndria and Italian coriandolo.^[4][5][1] The learned form is coriandro.^[2]

The Latin word is from Ancient Greek κορίανδρον (koríandron), a variant of κορίαννον (koríannon).^[2][6][1] Its origin is uncertain: it is sometimes linked with κόρις (kóris, “bedbug”) for the smell of the leaves, and Beekes takes it for a Pre-Greek word.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 14th century from Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese.^[2] The 16th-century dictionaries have it: Cardoso (1569) glosses it with Latin coriandrum and Barbosa (1611) cites Pliny for the Latin name.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712) calls it “a well-known herb” and quotes Camões's seventh elegy, Coentro opposto ao meu entendimento.^[9] Morais (1789) describes it as a very common garden herb used to make seasonings for the pot.^[10] Vieira (1871) adds the use of the seeds in medicine.^[11] In Maranhão the plant is also called cheiro, and in Bahia coentro is a slang name for cachaça.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 14th century – first record.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary lists coentro.^[7]
• 1611 – Barbosa glosses it with Latin coriandrum.^[8]
• 1712 – Bluteau quotes Camões.^[9]
• 1789 – Morais: a garden herb for seasoning.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. coriander, cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), an aromatic herb of the carrot family with small white or pink flowers.^[2][1][12]
2. Its leaves and seeds, used as a seasoning (tempero).^[14][15]
3. (Bahia, slang) cachaça.^[13]

Related words

• coriandro
• Galician coandro
• Spanish culantro

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. coentro
3. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. coentro
4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 286
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2232
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. coriandrum
7. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. coentro
8. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. coentro
9. ^ 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. coentro
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, 282
11. ^ 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, 265
12. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. coentro
13. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. coentro
14. ^ 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. coentro
15. ^ 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. coentro