entre

Forms

entre^[1] The medieval language also wrote antre and ontre (13th century); Houaiss gives antr in 1155 and notes ontre and antre in the dialects.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin inter (“between, among”), written Old Galician-Portuguese entre, Old Galician-Portuguese antre and Old Galician-Portuguese ontre in the medieval texts.^[2][3][1] Houaiss analyses the Latin word as the preposition in (“in”) with the contrastive suffix -ter- “one of two”.^[2]

The same Latin word is Galician entre, Spanish entre, Catalan entre, Occitan entre, French entre and Romanian între.^[4][1] The Latin word comes from *n̥ter, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”), with cognates such as Sanskrit अन्तर् (antár) and Old High German untar.^[1]

The form with o- is hard to explain.^[5] Carolina Michaëlis thought of the influence of Old Galician-Portuguese contra, Corominas of a cross with the Suevic or Gothic word for “under, between”, and Lorenzo partly of the nasal's effect on the vowel.^[5] Wiktionary also suggests Suevic influence, comparing the Old High German word.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A notarial document of 1253–1254 has sabiades que pleito este entre o abade “know that this is the agreement between the abbot…”, and others of 1262 and 1275 write ontre and untre.^[5] The Cantigas de Santa Maria use it for a place between two things (ben entre dous cantos “right between two corners”) and for a relation among people (avogada entre Deus e as gentes “advocate between God and people”).^[5]

Semantic evolution

The medieval word already had its main senses: position between two things or people, and membership among several.^[5] It combined with the personal pronouns, as in entreles “between them” in a document of 1253–1254.^[5] Bluteau in 1712 explains it as a preposition of time or place denoting separation, distance or difference.^[6] Morais in 1813 adds the figurative middle point between opposite qualities (entre vivo e morto “between living and dead”) and the span of time between two hours.^[7] Modern dictionaries add approximate amounts (entre dez e vinte), reciprocity and sharing, and the sum of two groups (entre mortos e feridos).^[2][8][9]

As a prefix entre- it forms words for an interval (entreacto), reciprocity (entrelaçar) and a slight or partial action (entrever).^[10][9]

Timeline

• 1155 – antr, the first record in Houaiss, from Machado's records.^[2]
• 1253–1254 – entre o abade in a notarial document.^[5]
• 1262 – ontre nos in a document;^[5] untre nos in 1275.^[5]
• 13th century – entre, antre and ontre.^[2][3]
• 1377 – entre ell e o dito Rey de castella in a document of the Corpo Diplomático Portuguez.^[11]
• c. 1430 – entre in the Horto do Esposo.^[12]
• 1697 – Pereira translates it with Latin in and inter.^[13]
• 1813 – Morais defines it as a preposition of position among several objects.^[7]

Meanings

Preposition

1. between, in the space or time separating two things or limits: A farmácia fica entre o banco e o correio.^[2][14][1]
2. Through an interval in a series: O fumo passava entre as grades.^[2]
3. Midway between two qualities or states: um tom entre o azul e o verde.^[2][15]
4. Inside, within the limits of: entre quatro paredes.^[2][9]
5. About, roughly, giving an approximate amount: entre trinta e quarenta pessoas.^[2][8]
6. among, in the midst of a group or number: Entre os candidatos havia dois médicos.^[2][16][1]
7. Expressing a relation of reciprocity, union or sharing between people: Dividiram o prémio entre si.^[15][8]
8. Counting together two groups: Perderam cinquenta homens, entre mortos e feridos.^[9]

Word family

• dentre

Related words

• inter-
• dentro
• entrar
• Latin inter
• Galician entre

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include entre a espada e a parede and entre a cruz e a caldeirinha, both “in a tight spot”, and entre o lobo e o cão “at dusk”.^[9] With de it forms dentre “from among”, and with por the phrase por entre “through, amid”.^[9]

The form entre is also the present subjunctive of entrar, which has a separate source.^[17]

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. entre
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. entre
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4485
5. ^ 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. entre
6. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. entre
7. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 1, 714
8. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3638
9. ^ a b c d e f 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. entre
10. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. s.v. entre
11. ^ Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 3, 186
12. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. entre
13. ^ 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. entre
14. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. entre
15. ^ 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. entre
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. entre
17. ^ Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. entre