crina

Forms

crina f (plural crinas)^[1] Bluteau in 1712 heads the word crina, ou crine.^[2] A variant clina is current in Brazil.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *crina, from crīnis (“hair of the head, tress”).^[1][5] Houaiss and Cunha derive it from the Latin noun, and Houaiss's first record, from 1548, is in the plural.^[6][7] The Latin word was masculine and meant the hair of the head.^[8] Portuguese made it feminine and narrowed it to the long hair of a horse's neck and tail.^[9] Nascentes cites Meyer-Lübke, who explains the feminine ending by the influence of coma (“hair”).^[10] The DCECH notes that the feminine, found in Plautus and other early Latin authors, prevailed in Spanish and Portuguese, and suggests that the Portuguese word may be a learned one.^[8] The Porto Editora dictionary takes it through Spanish.^[11]

The same Latin word is Galician crina, Spanish crin, Catalan crin, French crin and Italian crine.^[10][12][1] De Vaan reconstructs *krisni- and sees the same stem, meaning “crest, hair”, also in crista and crispus; the comparison with verbs for “to shake” such as Proto-Germanic *hrisjaną, assumes that hair was named as “what is shaken”, and he accepts it only with reservations.^[13][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is the plural crines in 1548.^[6] Bluteau in 1712 defines crina do cavallo, ou do Leaõ as the long hair that falls from the top of the neck, and quotes Os cabos, & Crinas se alimparáõ “the tails and manes shall be cleaned” from Galvão's treatise on farriery.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau also records crines do cometa for the tail of a comet.^[2] The word passed from the animal to its products: a coarse cloth woven from horsehair or plant fibres, used for rubbing the skin, and the hair of a violin bow.^[6][3] Crina vegetal is fibre of palms, agave and other plants, used like horsehair to stuff mattresses.^[6][5] In Portugal it can also mean a thick head of hair.^[11]

Timeline

• 1548 – first record, the plural crines.^[6]
• 17th century – Cunha's date for the word.^[7]
• 1712 – Bluteau heads crina, ou crine and records crines do cometa.^[2]
• 1755 – Folqman glosses crina with Latin juba.^[14]
• 1858 – first record of crinal.^[7]
• 1881 – first records of crinalvo and crinipreto.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The long, coarse hair of the neck and tail of a horse and some other animals; mane: O cavalo sacudiu as crinas molhadas.^[6][3][5][1]
2. (figurative) A thick head of hair.^[3][11]
3. A rough fabric of plant fibres, used for rubbing the skin.^[6][3][5]
4. (music) The hair of the bow of a stringed instrument.^[6][15]
5. crina vegetal: plant fibre of palms, agave and others, used for stuffing.^[6][5]

Word family

• crinalvo
• crinipreto

Related words

• crinito
• crinolina
• crespo
• Latin crīnis
• Galician crina
• Spanish crin

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. crina
3. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. crina
4. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. crina
5. ^ a b c d e 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. crina
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. crina
7. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. crina
8. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 243
9. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. crina
10. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. s.v. crina
11. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 2572
12. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. crinis
13. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
14. ^ Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. crina
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. crina