galinha

Forms

galinha f (plural galinhas)^[1] Houaiss records galinna in the 13th century and galinha from the 15th.^[2] The Miragres de Santiago write galinas.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin gallīna (“hen”), written Old Galician-Portuguese galinha in the oldest texts.^[2][4][5][1] The Latin noun was formed from gallus (“rooster”) with the suffix -īna,^[6][1] so that in Portuguese it pairs with galo as if it were the masculine with the diminutive -inha.^[1]

The same Latin word is Galician galiña, Spanish gallina, Catalan gallina, Italian gallina, Romanian găină, Old Occitan galina and Old French geline.^[7][1]

Houaiss dates the word to the 13th century, while Cunha has it only from the 16th.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest form is galinna, of the 13th century.^[2] A satirical cantiga tells of a king who ordered along his borders that nobody, in town or on the road, should eat hens during the war (que non cómian galinhas na guerra).^[8] The Miragres de Santiago count duas galinas “two hens” among a man's food.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The hen soon also meant its meat as a dish.^[2] Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 renders the word by Latin gallina.^[9] Figurative uses describe people: Caldas Aulete gives a weak or cowardly person and a woman of loose morals, and, in Portugal, something very good; in the Douro it meant bad luck.^[10] Houaiss dates the Portuguese sense “an easy thing to get” to 1938, and gives Brazilian senses for a person who changes partners easily, a fickle person and a coward.^[2] Expressions include deitar-se com as galinhas “to go to bed very early” and quando as galinhas tiverem dentes “never”.^[11][2]

The word passed into Kabuverdianu as galinha and into Papiamentu as galiña.^[1]

Timeline

• 1200s – first record, spelt galinna.^[2]
• 1400s – the spelling galinha.^[2]
• 1500s – Cunha's first record.^[4]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary lists Galinha.^[9]
• 1938 – first record of the Portuguese informal sense “an easy thing”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. hen, the female of the domestic cock (galo); also the domestic fowl in general.^[2][12][1]
2. chicken as food; a dish made with it.^[2][13][1]
3. (Portugal, informal) Something very easy to get, or very good.^[2][11]
4. (Portugal, informal) Bad luck, misfortune.^[2][11]
5. (figurative) A weak or cowardly person.^[13][12]
6. (Brazil, informal, derogatory) A person, man or woman, who changes sexual partners easily.^[2][13][1]

Adjective

1. (Brazil, informal) Fickle in tastes or opinions; frivolous; timid or cowardly.^[2]

Word family

• galinhada
• galinhaço
• galinheiro
• galinha-d'angola
• pé-de-galinha

Related words

• galo
• Latin gallīna
• Galician galiña
• Spanish gallina

Usage notes

Pele de galinha is skin with goose bumps, and cercar galinhas “to round up hens” means to stagger about drunk.^[11]

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 h i j k l m n o p Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. galinha
3. ^ a b 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. galina
4. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. galinha
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. galinha
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. gallīna
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 3661
8. ^ Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. galinha
9. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. galinha
10. ^ 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. galinha
11. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 4580
12. ^ 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. galinha
13. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. galinha