lanterna

Forms

lanterna f (plural lanternas)^[1] Houaiss records lanterna and lenterna in the 13th century, alanterna in the 15th and linterna in 1665.^[2] Folqman (1755) notes alinterna and alenterna as faulty forms, and Nascentes compares the popular linterna of D. Francisco Manuel de Melo's Fidalgo Aprendiz with the Brazilian lonterna.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin lanterna (“lantern, lamp”), written Old Galician-Portuguese lanterna and Old Galician-Portuguese lenterna in the oldest texts.^[2][5][1] Latin also had the form laterna.^[6][2]

The same Latin word is Italian lanterna, French lanterne, Occitan lanterna, Catalan llanterna and Spanish linterna.^[7]

The Latin word is an adaptation of Ancient Greek λαμπτήρ (lamptḗr, “torch, lantern”), which the OLD thinks came through Etruscan, and Wiktionary adds the influence of lucerna (“oil lamp”).^[6][1] The Greek word is formed from λάμπω (lámpō, “to shine”) with the agent suffix -τήρ (-tḗr).^[1][2] In Homer it is a brazier in which pine wood was burnt to light a room; later it is a beacon fire and a lantern.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Cantigas de Santa Maria use lenterna twice: in cantiga 134 a disease takes hold of the other leg tan forte que ardeu / mui mais que lenterna “so strongly that it burned far more than a lantern”, and cantiga 405 calls the Virgin the mother of Him que é nossa lenterna “who is our lantern”.^[9] Cunha and Houaiss date the word to the 13th century.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712–1728) defines a lantern as a transparent shelter that keeps the wind from a candle, records the lanterna de furta-fogo whose light can be hidden, and the small open structure on top of a building that lets in light.^[10] Morais (1813) adds the lanterna mágica and technical senses in artillery and mechanics, and Cunha dates lanterneiro to 1813.^[11][5] Silva Bastos (1912) has slang senses “bottle of wine” and “shoe”.^[12]

In the 20th century the word came to mean the battery torch and the lights of a vehicle; in Brazil lanterna or lanterninha is also the team in last place in a competition, and lanternagem is panel-beating, possibly named after damaged car lamps.^[2][5][1] The word passed into Papiamentu as lanterna, and Wiktionary lists Kannada and Malayalam words taken from it.^[1]

Timeline

• 13th century – lenterna in the Cantigas de Santa Maria.^[9][2]
• 15th century – the form alanterna.^[2]
• 1611 – Barbosa translates Lanterna as Latin laterna.^[13]
• 1665 – the form linterna.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records the lanterna de furta-fogo and the architectural lantern.^[10]
• 1813 – Morais records the lanterna mágica; first record of lanterneiro.^[11][5]
• 19th century – first record of lanternim.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lantern: a portable or fixed case of glass or other transparent material that holds a light and shields it from the wind.^[2][14][1]
2. A battery-powered hand lamp, a flashlight or torch: Leva a lanterna, que a cave não tem luz.^[2][14][1]
3. A light at the front, back or side of a vehicle, especially a sidelight or signal lamp.^[2][14][1]
4. The top part of a lighthouse (farol) that holds the lamp and lenses.^[2][14]
5. (architecture) A small open or glazed structure on top of a dome or zimbório, letting in light.^[2][14][1]
6. (Brazil, sports) The team or competitor in last place; lanterninha.^[2][1]
7. (slang) A bottle or glass of wine.^[15][12]

Word family

• lanterneiro
• lanternim
• lanternagem
• lanterninha

Related words

• lâmpada
• Latin lanterna
• Spanish linterna

Usage notes

Set phrases include lanterna mágica, an early projector of painted glass slides, lanterna furta-fogo, one whose light can be shut off so as not to show its bearer, and lanterna chinesa, a paper lantern.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. lanterna
3. ^ Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. lanterna
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 290
5. ^ a b c d e f Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. lanterna
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. lanterna
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4896
8. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ 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. lenterna
10. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. lanterna
11. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 205
12. ^ a b Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. lanterna
13. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. lanterna
14. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. lanterna
15. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 5577