doutoral

Forms

doutoral m or f (plural doutorais, not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

Houaiss takes it as probably borrowed from French doctoral (“relating to a doctor”), a French word he dates to about 1380, from Latin doctoralis, with the first part adapted to doutor.^[2] Cunha and the Aulete also give the French adjective as the source.^[3][4]

Most Portuguese dictionaries instead analyse it as a native formation, from Portuguese doutor + -al: so Vieira in 1871, Silva Bastos, Figueiredo, the Academia's DLP, Aurélio, Porto Editora and Michaelis.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} DELPo also derives it from the noun and compares Spanish doctoral.^[11] The noun is inherited from Latin doctor (“teacher”).^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is a text of about 1625, where the adjective already means “belonging to a doctor”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 18th century the word named a church dignity: Bluteau explains the cónego doutoral as the canon learned in law who gives his vote on legal matters.^[13] Morais in 1789 has only a noun, the raised seat in the university where the doctors sit.^[14] Vieira adds the tom doutoral, the tone of a master who speaks with authority, from which comes the modern disparaging sense “pedantic, sententious”.^[5][2][8] In Portugal the noun still names the benches of the doctors in the Sala dos Capelos of the University of Coimbra.^[7][9]

Timeline

• c. 1625 – first record of the adjective.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau explains the cónego doutoral, the canon versed in law.^[13]
• 1789 – Morais has the noun, the raised seat of the doctors in the university.^[14]
• 1813 – the second edition of Morais, Cunha's date for the word.^[3][15]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira records the adjective, the tom doutoral and the cónego doutoral.^[5]
• 1899 – Figueiredo places the doctors' benches in the hall of the university.^[16]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to a doutor (a holder of the doctorate): o capelo doutoral.^[2][7][8]
2. (derogatory) pedantic, sententious, pretentious: falava num tom doutoral.^{[2][7][8][10]}

Noun

1. (Portugal) The raised seat or benches of the doctors in the Sala dos Capelos of the University of Coimbra; usually in the plural.^[7][9][6]

Related words

• doutor
• doutorado
• French doctoral

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. doutoral
3. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. doutor
4. ^ 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. doutoral
5. ^ a b c 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, 1136
6. ^ a b Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. doutoral
7. ^ 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. doutoral
8. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. doutoral
9. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3277
10. ^ 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. doutoral
11. ^ 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. doutoral
12. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. doutor
13. ^ 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. doutoral
14. ^ 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, 456
15. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 1, 641
16. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 463