dobro

Forms

dobro m (plural dobros)^[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote dobro (1277) and dubro (1282), and doblo in the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin duplus (“double, twice as large”), written Old Galician-Portuguese dobro, Old Galician-Portuguese dubro and Old Galician-Portuguese doblo in the medieval texts.^[2][4][1] It is the popular form of the word, beside the learned duplo.^[2][4][1]

The same Latin word is Spanish doble, Catalan doble, French double and Italian doppio.^[5][1] The medieval Old Spanish doblo is the closest match of the Portuguese noun.^[6][7]

Wiktionary takes the Latin adjective back to Proto-Italic *duplos, analysed as duo (“two”) with -plus (“-fold”), and compares Ancient Greek διπλόος (diplóos, “double”) and Proto-Germanic *twīflaz (“doubt”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Latin charter of 939 already has in dublo uobis componat “let him pay you twice over”.^[3] The first Portuguese record is the same legal phrase in a charter of Portel of 1277: quanto demandar tanto a uos conponha en dobro “whatever he claims, let him pay it to you double”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In medieval documents the word lives mostly in penalty clauses, so pẽa do dobro “on pain of paying double” (1403), and with numerals for multiples, as in tres dobro “threefold” (1404) or cento dobr' “a hundredfold” in a satirical cantiga.^[3] The Crónica Geral of 1344 says that food rose to o dobro do que uallya “twice what it was worth”.^[3] Bluteau records comprar em dobro and pagar em dobro.^[8] Vieira notes its use as a legal term, condemnado a pagar o dobro.^[9] Houaiss records a weight put on a pack animal's load to balance it, and in southern Brazil a small bundle placed on top of a drover's load.^[2][10][11]

Timeline

• 939 – in dublo in a Latin charter.^[3]
• 1277 – en dobro in a charter of Portel.^[3][2]
• 1282 – the spelling dubro.^[2][3]
• 1344 – o dobro in the Crónica Geral.^[3]
• 14th century – the spelling doblo.^[2]
• c. 1430 – dobro in the Horto do Esposo (copied 1390–1437).^[12]
• 1569 – Cardoso translates it as Latin duplum.^[13]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records pagar em dobro.^[8]

Meanings

Numeral

1. (multiplicative) double, twice as much: Paguei o dobro do que tu pagaste.^{[2][14][15][1]}

Noun

1. (hyperbole) A much larger amount: Esta obra vai custar o dobro.^[2][10]
2. duplication, repetition.^[2][16]
3. A weight put on a pack animal's load to balance it.^[2]
4. (southern Brazil) A small bundle placed on top of a drover's load; a canvas bag carried on a horse's croup.^[2][17][11]

Related words

• dobrar
• duplo

Usage notes

Em dobro means “twice over”: pagar em dobro.^[8][2] The noun has a closed /o/, also in the plural dobros.^[16] dobro with an open /ɔ/ is a form of the verb dobrar.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. dobro
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. dobro
4. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. dobrar
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2802
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954)
7. ^ 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. doblo
8. ^ a b c Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. dobro
9. ^ 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, 1103
10. ^ a b 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. dobro
11. ^ a b 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. dobro
12. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. dobro
13. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. dobro
14. ^ 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. dobro
15. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3246
16. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. dobro
17. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. dobro