descartar

Forms

descartar (first-person singular present descarto, first-person singular preterite descartei, past participle descartado)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese des- + carta + -ar, literally “to take cards out (of one's hand)”.^[2][3][1] The noun, meaning “letter; playing card”, is from Latin charta, an early Latin borrowing of Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “sheet of papyrus”).^[4][1] The same formation is Spanish descartar.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the verb to 1544, in the sense of the card game: to put aside one or more cards that are of no use.^[2] Cunha dates it to the 16th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau still knows only the game sense, to take out of play the cards that do not serve.^[7] Morais adds in 1789 the reflexive descartar-se “to get rid of”, figuratively of pleasures or ambitions.^[8] From getting rid of a person or thing the verb came to mean “to disregard, to rule out”, as of a hypothesis, and “to throw away after use”, the sense of the adjective descartável “disposable”.^[2][9][3] In Rio Grande do Sul it is also used of leaving out a person, animal or piece of equipment that had been planned for a task.^[10]

Timeline

• 1544 – first record, in the sense of the card game.^[2]
• 1679–1696 – first record of the noun descarte.^[11]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines the game sense.^[7]
• 1789 – Morais records descartar-se “to get rid of”.^[8]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira gives the figurative sense of getting rid of a person or thing.^[12]

Meanings

Verb

1. (card games) To discard one or more cards that are of no use.^[2][9][1]
2. (card games) To force a partner or opponent to play certain cards.^[9][3]
3. To disregard, set aside; to rule out: descartar uma hipótese.^[2][1]
4. To throw away after use.^[3][9][1]
5. (also reflexive with de) To get rid of an unpleasant or useless person, feeling or task.^[2][1]

Word family

• descartável
• descarte

Related words

• carta
• Spanish descartar

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. descartar
3. ^ a b c d 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. descartar
4. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. carta
5. ^ 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. descartar
6. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. descartar
7. ^ 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. descartar
8. ^ 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, 396
9. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. descartar
10. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. descartar
11. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. descarte
12. ^ 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, 823