imaturo

Forms

imaturo (feminine imatura, masculine plural imaturos, feminine plural imaturas)^[1] Until the 20th century it was spelt immaturo, with the Latin double ⟨mm⟩;^[2] Houaiss dates imaturo to 1913.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin immātūrus (“unripe; untimely”).^[2][1][3] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.^[4] The Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not”) and mātūrus (“ripe, mature”).^[5][1] The inherited Portuguese word from the same root is maduro.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is of before 1580, in the feminine immatura.^[2] In Latin the word was used of fruit and plants that are not yet ripe, and of things that come before their time.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The Portuguese word kept both Latin senses, “unripe” and “premature, untimely”, both still listed by Houaiss.^[2] The psychological sense, “lacking emotional maturity”, is the commonest today;^[2][7] Porto Editora also has pejorative senses for behaviour not befitting an adult.^[2][7] The noun imaturidade is recorded from 1881.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1580 – first record, the feminine immatura.^[2]
• 1881 – immaturidade is recorded in Caldas Aulete's dictionary.^[8]
• 1913 – the spelling imaturo.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not yet ripe: laranjas imaturas.^[2][3][1]
2. Not fully developed physically; not fully formed: um feto imaturo.^[2][9]
3. premature, untimely, early: uma morte imatura.^[2][3][10]
4. Lacking emotional or psychological maturity; childish: um rapaz imaturo.^[2][7][1]

Noun

1. An immature person.^[2]

Related words

• maduro
• maturidade
• Latin immātūrus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. imaturo
3. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. imaturo
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. imaturo
5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. immātūrus
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. immātūrus
7. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 5088
8. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. imaturidade
9. ^ 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. imaturo
10. ^ 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. imaturo