corvo

Forms

corvo m (plural corvos, metaphonic)^[1] Medieval texts also write coruo.^[2] The plural corvos has an open vowel.^[3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin corvus (“raven”), written Old Galician-Portuguese corvo in the cantigas.^[2][4][1][5] Nunes counts it among the words whose short Latin ŏ became a closed /o/ before a final -o, where Spanish has the diphthong of Spanish cuervo.^[6]

The same Latin word is Galician corvo, Catalan corb, Italian corvo, Romanian corb and Old French corp.^[7][1] The Spanish word is first recorded in 1075, as a personal name.^[8] French corbeau comes from a diminutive of the Old French word.^[9][1]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *korwos and Proto-Indo-European *ḱorh₂wós.^[1][10] De Vaan notes that the words for crows and ravens in *kr- found in all the Indo-European languages are clearly imitative, and that the formation of the Latin word has no good match outside Italic.^[10] The OLD compares cornīx (“crow”) and Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax, “raven”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cantiga d'escarnho of Johan Airas has ouv' ũu corvo viaraz e faceiro, with the corvo viaraz, a small crow that flies in flocks over low ground; the bird was one of omen.^[12][5]

Semantic evolution

Barbosa (1611) and Morais (1789) list the corvo nocturno, a bird that sucks the goats' milk.^[13][14] Bluteau calls the raven a black bird that eats corpses and is of bad omen, and Vieira records it as a bird of omen.^[15][16] Morais adds the corvo marinho “cormorant”, which in some parts of Brazil was called urubu.^[14]

In Brazil the word is applied loosely to the black vulture and to the shiny cowbird, the chupim.^[2] Architecture uses it for the modilhão, astronomy for a southern constellation, and figurative speech for an anonymous informer.^[2][17]

Timeline

• 13th century – the cantigas d'escarnho write corvo.^[5][2]
• 14th century – the spelling coruo.^[2]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists corvo nocturno.^[13]
• 17th century – first record of corvejar “to caw”.^[4]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau calls the raven a bird of bad omen.^[15]
• 1789 – Morais records corvo marinho.^[14]
• 1858 – first record of corvino.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A crow or raven: any of several large, usually black birds of the family Corvidae, especially of the genus Corvus.^[2][18][1]
2. (Brazil, loosely) The black vulture, the urubu.^[2]
3. (Brazil) The shiny cowbird, the chupim.^[2]
4. (architecture) A modillion, a modilhão.^[2][1]
5. (astronomy) A southern constellation, Corvus.^[2][19]
6. (figurative, derogatory) A person who hides behind anonymity to act as an informer.^[2]

Word family

• corvejar
• corvo-marinho

Related words

• corvídeo
• corvino
• Latin corvus
• Galician corvo
• Spanish cuervo

Usage notes

The Azorean island of Corvo takes its name from corvo-marinho “cormorant”.^[1]

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. corvo
3. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. corvo
4. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. corvo
5. ^ a b c 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. corvo
6. ^ Nunes, José Joaquim (1945), Compêndio de gramática histórica portuguesa (fonética e morfologia), 5th ed., Lisboa: Livraria Clássica, p. 49
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2270
8. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 277
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. corbeau
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. corvus
12. ^ 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. corvo
13. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. corvo
14. ^ a b c 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, 339
15. ^ 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. corvo
16. ^ 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, 571
17. ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. corvo
18. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. corvo
19. ^ 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. corvo