conquistar

Forms

conquistar (first-person singular present conquisto, first-person singular preterite conquistei, past participle conquistado)^[1] Houaiss records the medieval spellings cõquistar (14th century) and comqujstar (15th century).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Medieval Latin conquistō (“to conquer”) according to Houaiss and Cunha, and Houaiss treats the Medieval Latin verb as a frequentative of Latin conquīrō (“to seek out everywhere, recruit”).^[2][3] Nascentes, Aurélio and the DLP reconstruct instead Vulgar Latin *conquisitō, a frequentative of the same Latin verb.^[4][5][6] Wiktionary gives this etymology as possible, through the participle conquīsītus, and adds that the verb may also be a Portuguese or early Romance formation on the participle of the older verb.^[1]

That older verb is Old Galician-Portuguese conquerer, very well documented in the 13th and 14th centuries, which Cunha derives from *conquaerō, the classical verb remade under the influence of quaerō (“to seek”).^[3] The noun conquista is also of the 13th century, older than the verb: Cunha explains it as the irregular feminine participle of conquerer turned into a noun, while Houaiss takes it as a back-formation from conquistar.^[7][8] Corominas derives Spanish conquistar (about 1334) in the same way from conquista, the participle of Old Spanish conquerir.^[9] In Portuguese the newer verb displaced the older one.^[1]

The classical verb is formed from con- and the verb meaning “to seek”.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the verb to the 14th century, spelt cõquistar.^[2] The Crónica Troiana has conquistou moytas terras et villas et lugares et poso as su seu señorio “he conquered many lands, towns and places and put them under his lordship”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The medieval and early dictionaries give only the military sense: Cardoso (1569) and Barbosa (1611) render it with Latin verbs for subduing and storming, and Bluteau defines it as adding lands, provinces or kingdoms to one's dominion by force of arms.^[11][12][13] Morais (1789) adds the senses “to achieve, obtain”, as in winning honours or veneration, and “to win over” wills.^[14] The original Caldas Aulete has the figurative sense “to win hearts, love or friendship”.^[15]

Modern Portuguese uses it for winning a prize or title by effort, for drawing people to a cause, for charming someone, and, pejoratively, for succeeding in an amorous advance.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 13th century – the older verb conquerer and the noun conquista.^[3][7]
• 14th century – first record of the verb, spelt cõquistar.^[2][3]
• 15th century – conquistar and comqujstar; first record of conquistador.^[2][16]
• 1569 – Cardoso's Portuguese–Latin dictionary renders it with Latin debello and domo.^[11]
• 1686 – first record of reconquistar.^[17]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as extending one's dominion by arms.^[13]
• 1789 – Morais adds “to obtain” and “to win over”.^[14]
• 1813 – first record of inconquistável.^[3]
• 1836 – first record of conquistável.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To conquer; to take or subdue by force of arms: Os romanos conquistaram a Península Ibérica.^[2][5][1]
2. To achieve, win by effort or against opposition: conquistar o campeonato.^[2][5]
3. To receive (a prize or honour), usually on merit.^[2]
4. (figurative) To arouse, earn for oneself (hatred, sympathy).^[2]
5. To win over (someone) to a cause.^[2]
6. (figurative) To charm, win the affection or love of: Conquistou os colegas com o seu humor.^[2][5][1]
7. (pejorative) To succeed in an amorous advance; to seduce.^[2]

Word family

• conquistador
• conquistável
• inconquistável
• reconquistar
• reconquista

Related words

• conquista
• Latin conquiro
• Spanish conquistar

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. conquistar
3. ^ a b c d e f Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. conquistar
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. conquistar
5. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. conquistar
6. ^ 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. conquistar
7. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. conquista
8. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. conquista
9. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. conquista
10. ^ 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. conquistar
11. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. conquistar
12. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. conquistar
13. ^ 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. conquistar
14. ^ 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, 312
15. ^ 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. conquistar
16. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. conquistador
17. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. reconquistar