incêndio

Forms

incêndio m (plural incêndios)^[1] The first record, of 1552, is spelt jncendio.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin incendium (“fire, conflagration”), first recorded in 1552.^[2][3][1][4] Houaiss lists the many senses of the Latin word: strong heat, a blaze, a torch for setting fires, and figuratively ardour, ruin and a steep rise in prices.^[2]

It corresponds to Spanish incendio, Italian incendio, Catalan incendi and Romanian incendiu.^[1][5] The French incendie was borrowed from Latin only in 1605.^[6]

The Latin noun is formed from incendō (“to set on fire”) with the suffix -ium.^[7][1] The verb is made of in- and candeō (“to glow, burn”).^[6] That verb goes back to Proto-Italic *kandēō, “to shine”.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the first record, spelt jncendio, to 1552, and Cunha places the word in the 16th century.^[2][3] From the start it is a great, destructive fire.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1813) defines it as a great fire that burns buildings, crops, woods and cities, and adds the figurative incêndio das paixões, the great ardour of anger or love, and incêndio de guerra.^[9] Vieira (1871–1874) quotes Francisco Manuel de Melo's Carta de Guia de Casados on how the smallest straws can cause the greatest fires.^[10] Figueiredo (1899) has the figurative senses “great ardour”, “conflagration” and “calamity”.^[11]

Houaiss adds a reddish glow over a wide area, an idea or action that spreads fast, and a violent conflict or war.^[2] The verb incendiar, formed from this noun, is recorded from 1789.^[12] Tetum borrowed the word as inséndiu.^[1]

Timeline

• 1552 – first record, spelt jncendio.^[2]
• 1660 – incendio in a private letter.^[13]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as a great fire, and the verb incendiar is recorded.^[14][12]
• 1813 – Morais adds incêndio das paixões and incêndio de guerra.^[9]
• 1899 – Figueiredo records the senses “conflagration” and “calamity”.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large fire that causes damage, as in a building or a forest.^[2][15][1]
2. The act of setting something on fire; arson.^[15][1]
3. A reddish glow lighting up a wide area, as at sunset.^[2]
4. (figurative) An idea or action that spreads quickly.^[2]
5. (figurative) A violent conflict, a conflagration (conflagração) or war.^[2][15]
6. (figurative) Great destruction; a calamity.^[15][16]
7. (figurative) Enthusiasm, ardor.^[15][17]

Word family

• incendiar

Related words

• incendiário
• incender
• Latin incendium
• Spanish incendio

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. incêndio
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. incender
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. incêndio
5. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. incendio
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. incendie
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. incendium
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. candeō
9. ^ a b c Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 141
10. ^ 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, 1059
11. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 739
12. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. incendiar
13. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. incêndio
14. ^ 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, 703
15. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. incêndio
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. incêndio
17. ^ 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. incêndio