junta

Forms

junta f (plural juntas)^[1] Medieval texts write iũta (14th century), junta and jumtas (15th century).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Portuguese junto (“joined, together”): the feminine of the adjective, used as a noun, as Houaiss, Nascentes and Aurélio explain.^[2][4][5][6] Wiktionary takes it from Old Galician-Portuguese junta, from Latin iūncta, the feminine of iūnctus, the past participle of iungō (“to yoke, join”).^[1] In Medieval Latin juncta was used for a joint and for a judicial or military assembly.^[7] Du Cange quotes a bishop Vitalis on such assemblies in Aragon.^[8]

The DLE derives Spanish junta from juntar, and yunta, which Corominas places under junto.^[9][10] The Latin verb goes back to Proto-Italic *jungō, from Proto-Indo-European *yewg-, the root of the word for the yoke.^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest date, 1227, is from a document in Viterbo's Elucidário, with the sense “a pair of draught animals”.^[2] Cunha records iũta “meeting” in the 14th century, and Houaiss dates the sense “assembly of people called together for a purpose” to the same century.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Houaiss dates the sense “point where two things join” to the 15th century, the joint of two bones to 1567 and the mason's joint between bricks or stones to 1513.^[2] Bluteau (1712–1728) lists the joints of the body, a yoke of oxen (junta de boys) and the carpenter's joint between boards, and Folqman (1755) adds a gathering of people to discuss a matter and a consultation of doctors (junta de médicos).^[12][13] Morais (1813) records the word for corporations such as the Junta do Commercio, and Vieira for administrative and fiscal tribunals.^[14][15]

In Brazil the word also names a festive collective work party, like the mutirão, in Pernambuco, Bahia and Minas Gerais.^[2][16] Schlee records junta for a yoke of oxen in Rio Grande do Sul, as Uruguayan Spanish has yunta.^[17] Several Brazilian plants are called junta or junta-de-cobra.^[6][18]

Timeline

• 1227 – Houaiss's earliest date, from Viterbo's Elucidário, in the sense “pair of draught animals”.^[2]
• 14th century – iũta “meeting, assembly”.^[3][2]
• c. 1431 – junta in the Vida do Infante Josafat (witness 1431–1446).^[19]
• 1513 – first date of the mason's sense “joint between bricks or stones”.^[2]
• 1567 – first date of the anatomical sense “joint”.^[2]
• 1589 – juntas “meetings of people”.^[2]
• 1755 – Folqman lists junta de médicos.^[13]
• 1813 – Morais records the Junta do Commercio and similar bodies.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of joining; a junction of roads, rivers or of parts, bars or cables.^[2]
2. A point, line or surface where two things meet or are fixed together; a joint, seam.^[2][20][18]
3. A pair of draught animals, especially a yoke of oxen: Lavrava o campo com uma junta de vacas..^[2][5][20]
4. (anatomy) The joint of two bones (articulação): a junta do joelho.^[2][18][1]
5. (construction) The narrow gap between bricks, blocks or tiles, usually filled with mortar (argamassa); also an expansion gap: junta de dilatação.^[2][21][1]
6. An assembly (assembleia) of people called together for a purpose; a committee, board: junta médica, a consultation of doctors over a patient.^[2][5][20]
7. (administration) A name of various consultative, administrative or inspecting bodies of the State, such as the junta de freguesia of a Portuguese parish or the junta comercial that registers companies.^[2][20]
8. (politics) A provisional government, usually of revolutionary origin: junta governativa.^[2][1]
9. (north-eastern Brazil, Minas Gerais) A festive collective work party; mutirão.^[2][16]
10. (nautical, engineering) A joint between flat metal or wooden surfaces, and the sealing material used in it; a gasket.^[2][1]
11. (geology) The contact between two layers of rock; a crack.^[2][21]
12. (Brazil) A name of several Brazilian plants.^[18][6]

Related words

• junção
• juntar
• junto
• juntura
• Latin iungō
• Spanish junta
• Galician xunta

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 q r s t u v Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. junta
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. junta
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. junta
5. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. junta
6. ^ 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. junta
7. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. juncta
8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre, p. s.v. juncta
9. ^ 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. junta
10. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. junta
11. ^ 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. iungō
12. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. junta
13. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. junta
14. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 194
15. ^ 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, 1220
16. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. junta
17. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. 2, s.v. junta
18. ^ a b c d Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. junta
19. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. junta
20. ^ 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. junta
21. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 5505