esmalte

Forms

esmalte m (plural esmaltes)^[1] A document of 1364 writes both esmalte and smalte.^[2] The TLPGP records the variant esmalto in Portugal.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old Occitan esmalt (“enamel”) or Catalan esmalt, from Frankish *smalt.^[4][5][6] Cunha names only the Catalan word, of Germanic origin, and Houaiss notes that the Catalan form is first recorded in 1306, in another spelling, and as esmalt in 1370.^[7][4] Wiktionary traces the word to Old Galician-Portuguese esmalte, which it derives, possibly through the Old Occitan word, from Medieval Latin smaltum, a Latin form recorded from 913 and itself borrowed from Frankish.^[1][8]

The Frankish noun belongs to a Germanic verb Proto-Germanic *smaltjan (“to melt”), the source of German schmelzen (“to melt”) and Schmelz (“enamel”).^[4][9] Corominas argues that the Iberian word cannot be a native Gothic loan, since the root is not known in Gothic and the Franks made ceramics, so it came through Catalan or Old Occitan.^[10] Spanish esmalte is recorded from the 14th century.^[10] French émail, first recorded about 1140, is the direct outcome of the Frankish word.^[11] Vieira reported that Diez preferred the Germanic etymology to Laborde's derivation from Latin maltha.^[12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Crónica Troiana describes a nose-guard and circlet full of esmaltes et de pedras preçiosas “enamels and precious stones”, where the editors hesitate between enamel and inlaid work.^[2] A document of 1364 lists duas taças com esmaltes “two cups with enamels” and a silver jug with a smalte, and a document of 1395 names os esmaltes et o meu Reliquario esmaltado “the enamels and my enamelled reliquary”.^[2] Houaiss and Cunha date the word to the 14th century, and Cunha dates esmaltado to the same century.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is the vitreous coating fused onto metal and the objects decorated with it.^[2][4] Cardoso (1569) and Barbosa (1611) render it with Latin emblema, inlaid ornament, and Folqman (1755) with encaustum, enamel fired in the kiln.^[13][14][15] Bluteau's synonym dictionary already has the figurative senses “flower, perfection”.^[16] Morais (1789) adds the bright colour of porcelain and of a peacock's feathers, the enamel of the teeth, and poetic uses in Lobo and Camões for the varied colours of flowers.^[17]

Later senses are the blue cobalt pigment used by painters, the tinctures of heraldry and, in printing, the coat of shellac or glue that protects a plate being etched.^[4][5] In Brazil esmalte alone is nail varnish.^[1] Porto Editora records esmalte de unhas.^[18] The word passed into Tetum as ezmalte.^[1]

Timeline

• 1364 – duas taças com esmaltes in a document, beside the spelling smalte.^[2]
• 1395 – a document names os esmaltes and an enamelled reliquary.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses it with Latin emblema.^[13]
• 1755 – Folqman glosses fired enamel with Latin encaustum.^[15]
• 1789 – Morais records the enamel of the teeth and figurative senses.^[17]
• 1899 – Figueiredo derives it from Low Latin smaltum and a Germanic smaltjan.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. enamel, a transparent or coloured vitreous substance applied in liquid form to metal, porcelain and other surfaces, which hardens into a bright, durable film: O ourives aplicou esmalte azul na medalha.^[4][5][18]
2. A piece of work covered or decorated with enamel.^[4][5][20]
3. A blue paint containing cobalto, used by painters; smalt.^[4][5][20]
4. (printing) The coat of goma-laca or charred glue that covers and protects the lines of a plate being etched.^[4][5]
5. (heraldry) The tinctures of a coat of arms.^[4][5][18]
6. (anatomy) Tooth enamel, the hard outer layer of the crown, over the dentina.^[4][5][1]
7. A glaze on pottery.^[1]
8. (Brazil) nail polish; in Portugal esmalte de unhas, verniz de unhas.^[1][18]
9. (figurative) Brilliance, splendour; something that sets a thing off.^[5][20][21]

Word family

• esmaltado
• esmaltar

Related words

• Catalan esmalt
• Spanish esmalte
• French émail

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 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. esmalte
3. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. esmalte
4. ^ 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. esmalte
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. esmalte
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. esmalte
7. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. esmalte
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. smaltum
9. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. esmalte
10. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 728
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. émail
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. 3, 306
13. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. esmalte
14. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. esmalte
15. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. esmalte
16. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. esmalte
17. ^ 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, 43
18. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 3846
19. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 546
20. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. esmalte
21. ^ 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. esmalte