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corrente

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word corrente

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1381 a document, in the phrase moneda corrente More words from the 14th century
Inherited from
Latin currens
Ultimate origin
Latin curro

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /koˈʁẽ.t͡ʃi/, [koˈhẽ.t͡ʃi][1]
  • Rio-de-Janeiro: /koˈʁẽ.t͡ʃi/, [koˈχẽ.t͡ʃi][1]
  • Portugal: /kuˈʁẽ.tɨ/[1]

Forms

corrente f (plural correntes, diminutive correntinha or correntezinha, augmentative correntona or correntezona)[1] As an adjective it has one form for both genders, plural correntes.[2][3] The masculine noun o corrente means “what is usual”.[2][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin currēns (“running”), the present participle of currō (“to run”), written Old Galician-Portuguese corrente in the oldest texts.[2][5][1][4] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.[6] Aurélio and the Wikcionário relate it within Portuguese to correr with the suffix -nte.[7][8]

The same Latin participle gave Galician corrente, Spanish corriente, Catalan corrent, French courant, Italian corrente and Romanian curent.[1][9][10] Medieval Latin already used the participle as a noun for a flowing stream or current.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lorenzo's chronology antedates Machado's 15th-century date with por çen moravedis desta moneda corrente “for a hundred maravedis of this current money”, in a document of 1381.[12] The first sense is thus “current, in use”, said of money.[12] The noun follows in 1439: das aguas e correntes do mar “of the waters and currents of the sea”.[12]

Semantic evolution

Galician documents of the 15th century use the adjective for money of legal tender and for the year now running.[12] Cunha dates the noun in the sense “chain, fetter” to the 16th century.[5] Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 has the adjective in the sense “practised, experienced”.[13]

Folqman's dictionary of 1755 lists the current of a river, an iron chain, “usual”, current money and “present”.[14] Morais adds the currents of the sea and, figuratively, a series of victories.[15] Figueiredo records a Brazilian sugar-mill term, a perforated wooden box that caught the syrup that had not set.[16]

Modern senses include electric current, a school of thought or faction within a group, and a chain letter.[2][17][1] The corrente is also the courante, a Renaissance and Baroque dance in triple time.[2] In Brazilian dialects the noun can mean a whirlpool or a small stream.[18]

Timeline

  • 1381 – moneda corrente “current money”.[12]
  • 1415 – moeda corrente in a register of Noia, Galicia.[12]
  • 1439 – correntes do mar “currents of the sea”.[12]
  • 16th century – Cunha's date for the noun “chain”.[5]
  • 1569 – Cardoso glosses the adjective “practised”.[13]
  • 1755 – Folqman lists river current, iron chain and current money.[14]
  • 1789 – Morais describes the currents of the sea and the prisoner's chain.[15]
  • 1844 – first record of acorrentar “to chain”.[5]
  • 1899 – Figueiredo records the sugar-mill sense.[16]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. flowing, running freely, not stagnant: água corrente.[2][3][4]
  2. current, now in progress: no mês corrente.[2][19]
  3. In force, of legal tender: moeda corrente.[2][19]
  4. Usual, common, widely accepted: Esta palavra é de uso corrente.[2][7]
  5. fluent, easy: Fala um inglês corrente.[2][3]
  6. Versed, proficient in a subject.[2]

Noun

  1. (feminine) A current of water, the flow of a river or sea; a stream.[2][17][1]
  2. (feminine) A movement of air;[2][4] corrente de ar, a draught.[2][4]
  3. (feminine, electricity) An electric current.[17][1]
  4. (feminine) A chain of linked metal rings; a fetter.[2][5][1]
  5. (feminine) A fine chain worn as jewellery or on a watch.[2]
  6. (feminine) A series of linked people or things; a chain letter.[2][1]
  7. (feminine) A school of thought, or a faction within a party: as correntes do partido.[2][1]
  8. (feminine, music, dance) A courante.[2]
  9. (masculine) What is usual or normal.[2][4][1]

Word family

  • acorrentar
  • desacorrentar
  • correnteza
  • correntemente

Usage notes

Estar ao corrente means to be informed of something, and pôr ao corrente to inform.[4][20] In the Alentejo the adjective also means sociable, easy to get on with.[4][2][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. corrente
  3. ^ a b c 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. corrente
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. corrente
  5. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. corrente
  6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. corrente
  7. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. corrente
  8. ^ Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. corrente
  9. ^ Estraviz, Isaac Alonso, Dicionário Estraviz, https://estraviz.org, p. s.v. corrente
  10. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. corriente
  11. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. currens
  12. ^ a b c d e f g 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. corrente
  13. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. corrente
  14. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. corrente
  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, 334
  16. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. s.v. corrente
  17. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 2491
  18. ^ a b Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. corrente
  19. ^ a b 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. corrente
  20. ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. corrente

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Corrente.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/corrente. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·