grinalda

Forms

grinalda f (plural grinaldas)^[1] The 14th-century Crónica Troiana writes grilanda, and Nascentes cites grillanda from the 16th-century Boosco Deleitoso.^[2][3] Houaiss records guerlanda in the 13th century and grilanda in the 14th under guirlanda, which is still the form of the Alto Alentejo.^[4][5]

Etymology

According to Cunha, Nascentes and Aulete it is borrowed from Old Occitan guirlanda, taken through the older form grilanda, with metathesis of the consonants.^[6][7][8] Houaiss instead takes it from Spanish guirnalda, recorded until 1400, earlier Old Spanish guirlanda and guerlanda (1288).^[9] Aurélio starts from Old French guerlande with metathesis, and Wiktionary calls it a metathesis of the Spanish word, from the Old Occitan or Italian guirlanda.^[10][1] Gonçalves Viana, as Nascentes reports him, took the Italian word as the starting point of the Romance forms.^[3]

Following Corominas, Houaiss says the Spanish word, Catalan garlanda, Old French garlande and Italian ghirlanda all share an uncertain origin: perhaps the Old French word, an alteration of *garnande, a Germanic derivative of the root of Old French garnir (“to equip, adorn”);^[9][5][11] Occitan would then have changed the French form to its own under the influence of native words.^[9][5][11] The DHLF derives the French and Occitan words from Frankish *wēra, an ornament worn on the head, matching Old High German wiara.^[12] Meyer-Lübke, cited by Nascentes, also considered the word Frankish.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Crónica Troiana speaks of people wearing their grilandas properly or awry.^[2] Houaiss's first record of grinalda is a text of 1548, and Cunha dates the word to the 15th century, with the sense “crown of flowers, branches or precious stones”.^[9][6]

Semantic evolution

The old dictionaries define the word as a capella, a crown of flowers, and Morais adds the crown of precious stones.^[13] The sense widened to a festoon of flowers or leaves carved or painted on buildings, to the top of the stern panel of a ship, and, figuratively, to an anthology of poems.^[8][14][9] Today the grinalda is above all the bride's floral headdress.^[8][15]

Timeline

• 14th century – grilanda in the Crónica Troiana.^[2]
• 15th century – first record of grinalda.^[6]
• 1548 – Houaiss's first dated record.^[9]
• 16th century – grillanda in the Boosco Deleitoso.^[3]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses Grinalda with Latin crinale.^[16]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau derives the word from French guirlande.^[17]
• 1734 – Feijó prescribes grinalda, not guirnalda.^[18]
• 1789 – Morais adds the crown of precious stones.^[19]

Meanings

Noun

1. A wreath or garland of flowers, leaves or branches, worn on the head or used as decoration, especially the bride's headdress: Puseram-lhe na cabeça uma grinalda de margaridas.^[9][8][1]
2. A crown or diadem of precious stones or pearls.^[14][20]
3. (architecture) An ornament of flowers, leaves and fruit woven together; a festão.^[14][10]
4. (figurative) A literary anthology, especially a collection of poems by several authors in honour of a person or event.^[14][10]
5. (nautical) The upper part of a ship's stern panel, or the moulding that decorates it.^[10][20]

Word family

• engrinaldar

Related words

• guirlanda
• Spanish guirnalda
• French guirlande

Usage notes

Grinalda-de-noiva “bride's wreath” is the name of an ornamental shrub of the rose family.^[20][10] In some Portuguese dialects the word also means idling or a spree.^[21]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. grilanda
3. ^ a b c d Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke)
4. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. guirlanda
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 272
6. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. grinalda
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. grinalda
8. ^ a b c d 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. grinalda
9. ^ a b c d e f g Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. grinalda
10. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. grinalda
11. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. guirnalda
12. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
13. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 101
14. ^ a b c d 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. grinalda
15. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. grinalda
16. ^ 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. grinalda
17. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. grinalda
18. ^ Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. grinalda
19. ^ 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, 70
20. ^ a b c 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. grinalda
21. ^ 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. grinalda