cuspir

Forms

cuspir (first-person singular present cuspo, third-person singular present cospe, first-person singular preterite cuspi, past participle cuspido)^[1] The 13th century wrote both cospir and cuspir.^[2][3][4] The present tense alternates between u and o (cuspo, cospes, cospe), which Feijó noted in 1734 by conjugating it like fugir.^[1][5] Wiktionary lists guspir as a variant, and Schlee records it in Rio Grande do Sul.^[1][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cōnspuō (“to spit on”), written Old Galician-Portuguese cospir beside the modern spelling in the 13th century.^[2][3][1][7] Houaiss and Aurélio posit a Vulgar Latin infinitive in ⟨-ire⟩, the verb having moved to the fourth conjugation.^[2][8] Houaiss's form has also lost the ⟨n⟩ before ⟨s⟩.^[2][8] Nascentes explains the ⟨u⟩ of the infinitive from the forms stressed on the stem, and in his fuller dictionary as a raising of ⟨o⟩ to ⟨u⟩ by metaphony.^[7][9]

The same Latin verb gave Galician cuspir, Asturian cuspir and Mirandese cuçpir.^[10][1] Corominas thinks that Spanish escupir and Catalan escopir, which is also the Occitan and Old French form, are related but come from a derivative *exconspuō that lost its second ⟨s⟩ by dissimilation.^[10][11]

The Latin source is itself formed from Latin con- + spuō (“to spit”).^[12][1] De Vaan derives the simple verb from Proto-Indo-European *sp(i)uH-ie/o- (“to spit”), with cognates such as Ancient Greek πτύω (ptúō).^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantigas de Santa Maria tell of an image of Christ that the Jews would strike and cospir-lle na faz “spit in its face”, and of a minstrel who cospiu “spat” in contempt.^[4] Another cantiga turns a proverb: whoever wants to spit up at the sky has it fall back on his face (tal é como quen cospir / quer suso contra o ceo, e vai-lle na faz caer).^[4] The cantigas d'escarnho have both cuspiron and cospir.^[14][4]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1789) adds to “spit” the figurative sense “throw off, not let through”: a hull so strong that it spat the cannon balls back, shields of raw hide that spat out the iron, bodies the earth spat out.^[15] Modern usage extends it to anything that expels or throws: a chimney or a volcano, a bucking bull that throws its rider, harsh words flung at someone, and contempt (cuspir no passado).^[2][16] The DLP records slang senses, to blurt something out or let a secret slip.^[17] Portugal says cuspir para o ar for boasting.^[18]

The derivatives appear early: cospe “spittle” in the 14th century, cuspo (a deverbal noun) and cuspinhar in the 15th, cuspidor in the 16th.^[3]

Timeline

• 13th century – cospir and cuspir in the cantigas.^[4][2]
• 14th century – the noun cospe.^[3]
• 15th century – cospo (cuspo) and acuspinhar.^[3]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders cuspir by Latin conspuo.^[19]
• 1611 – Barbosa adds cuspir mutas vezes “to spit often”.^[20]
• 1734 – Feijó gives its present tense, Eu cuspo, tu cóspes.^[5]
• 1789 – Morais records the figurative “throw off”.^[15]
• 1871 – Vieira derives it from Latin conspuere.^[21]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, or with em) To spit, expel saliva: Não cuspas para o chão.^[2][22][1]
2. (transitive) To spit out something from the mouth: cuspir sangue.^[2][23]
3. (by extension) To expel or throw out anything: O vulcão cuspia cinza.^[2][16]
4. (figurative) To fling harsh words at someone: cuspir insultos.^[2][8][1]
5. (with em) To scorn, despise.^[2]
6. (figurative) To hurl someone or something away.^[2][16]
7. (slang) To blurt out, let a secret slip.^[17]

Word family

• cuspo
• cuspe
• cuspidor
• cuspinhar
• cusparada
• cuspidela

Related words

• cuspada
• cuspideira
• Latin cōnspuō
• Galician cuspir
• Spanish escupir

Usage notes

Cuspir no prato em que comeu “to spit in the plate one ate from” is said of ingratitude.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. cuspir
3. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. cuspir
4. ^ a b c d e 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. cospir
5. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. cuspir
6. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. cuspir
7. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. cuspir
8. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. cuspir
9. ^ 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. cuspir
10. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 721
11. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. escupir
12. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. conspuo
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. ^ 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. cuspir
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, 357
16. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. cuspir
17. ^ a b 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. cuspir
18. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 2650
19. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. cuspir
20. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. cuspir
21. ^ 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, 678
22. ^ 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. cuspir
23. ^ 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. cuspir