cruzar

Forms

cruzar (first-person singular present cruzo, first-person singular preterite cruzei, past participle cruzado)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese cruz + -ar.^[2][1][3][4] Houaiss dates it to the 13th century in the sense “to go on crusade”, Cunha to the 12th; both date “to travel across” to the 17th.^[2][5] Nascentes notes that Saint Avitus has Latin cruciō.^[6] DELPo compares Spanish cruzar.^[7]

The noun cruz is from Latin crux (“cross”), a semi-learned word, since its ⟨u⟩ did not open to ⟨o⟩ as in popular words.^[8] The Latin word is of unclear origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cantiga d'escarnho of Pedr' Amigo de Sevilha begins Quen mi ora quisesse cruzar, / ben assi poderia ir / ben como foi a Ultramar / Pero d'Ambrõa “whoever would now give me the cross could go, just as Pero d'Ambrõa went, Overseas”.^[9][10] The sense is to take the cross, to go on crusade to the Holy Land.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

Pereira (1697) still glosses the verb as “to crucify”.^[11] Bluteau (1712–1728) has the sea sense, sailing to and fro across the sea, as pirates do, and quotes Outras duas velas Cruzarão largo tempo o mar “two more sails cruised the sea for a long time”.^[12] Morais (1789) adds placing things crosswise, beating about and crossing through the middle.^[13] Vieira lists cruzar as pernas, cruzar o ferro “to fight with swords” and cruzar os braços “to stay idle”.^[14]

Figueiredo (1899) records crossing breeds of animals and marks the crusading sense as old.^[15] Newer senses are to cross a cheque, to cross the ball in football and, in Brazil, ritual senses in Afro-Brazilian religions.^[2][16]

Timeline

• 13th century – cruzar “to take the cross” in a cantiga d'escarnho.^[9][2]
• 17th century – first record of the sense “to travel across”.^[2][5]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses it “to crucify”.^[11]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records cruzar o mar.^[12]
• 1789 – Morais records placing crosswise, as in cruzão as vergas.^[13]
• 1890 – first record of cruzador “cruiser”.^[5]
• 1899 – Figueiredo records crossbreeding.^[15]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lay crosswise; to cross (arms, legs): cruzar as mãos sobre o peito.^[2][3]
2. (reflexive) To intersect: As duas linhas cruzam-se aqui.^[2][1]
3. To go across, pass through: cruzar a rua.^[2][3]
4. To sail or travel about in all directions; to cruise.^[2][16]
5. (with com) To come across, pass (someone going the other way).^[2][1]
6. To compare, cross-check (data).^[2]
7. To crossbreed (animals).^[2][1][16]
8. (reflexive) To cross oneself.^[2]
9. (banking) To cross (a cheque).^[2][16]
10. (football) To cross (the ball).^[2]
11. (historical) To take the cross; to go on a crusade (cruzada).^[2]
12. (Brazil, informal) não cruzar com: not to get on with (someone).^[2]

Word family

• cruzamento
• cruzador
• descruzar

Related words

• cruz
• cruzada
• cruzado
• cruzeiro
• encruzilhada
• Latin crux
• Spanish cruzar

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 n o p q Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. cruzar
3. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. cruzar
4. ^ 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. cruzar
5. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. cruz
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. cruzar
7. ^ NEHiLP – Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa em Etimologia e História da Língua Portuguesa, Universidade de São Paulo, DELPo: Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (online database), p. s.v. cruzar
8. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. cruz
9. ^ 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. cruzar
10. ^ a b 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. cruzar
11. ^ a b Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. cruzar
12. ^ 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. cruzar
13. ^ 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, 351
14. ^ 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, 651
15. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. s.v. cruzar
16. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 2608