lentilha

Forms

lentilha f (plural lentilhas)^[1] The 14th-century texts have the plural lentilhas and also lentella.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin lenticula (“lentil”), a diminutive of lēns (“lentil”).^[2][3][1][4] Wiktionary passes through the shortened form Vulgar Latin *lenticla, in which the group -cl- became ⟨lh⟩;^[1][5] Nascentes refers to abelha for the same development.^[1][5]

Corominas explains Spanish lenteja and Galician lentella from the classical form with a short i, while the Portuguese word, Catalan llentilla and French lentille continue a variant with a long ī.^[6][7] Italian lenticchia belongs to the same family.^[8] Wiktionary names a learned doublet, listed under Related words.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is the plural lentilhas in the Inéditos de Alcobaça of the 14th century.^[2] Cunha also dates the word to the 14th century.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The plant and its seed are the old senses.^[2] From the shape of the seed came others: Barbosa's dictionary of 1611 already has lentilhas do rosto “freckles”, and Bluteau adds the optical sense, a small round glass thicker in the middle, a lente.^[10][11] Morais records lentilha de poço, a water plant with tiny round leaves that floats on wells, which Vieira places in the duckweed family.^[12][13]

Modern dictionaries add a pellet in pharmacy, a lens-shaped deposit in geology and, in Trás-os-Montes, a carbuncular pustule.^[2][14][15]

Timeline

• 14th century – first record, lentilhas, in the Inéditos de Alcobaça.^[2][9]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses it with Latin lens.^[16]
• 1611 – Barbosa records lentilhas do rosto “freckles”.^[10]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records the sense “lens” in optics.^[11]
• 1789 – Morais records lentilha de poço.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The lentil plant (Lens culinaris), an annual legume native to Asia with small pods holding one or two seeds.^[2][17][1]
2. The lentil, the flat round seed of this plant, eaten as food.^[2][18][1]
3. (pharmacy) A pellet.^[2][17]
4. (geology) A lens-shaped deposit lying between strata.^[2][17]
5. (Portugal, Trás-os-Montes) A carbuncular pustule.^[14][15]

Related words

• lente
• lentícula
• Galician lentella
• Spanish lenteja

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. lentilha
3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. lentilha
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. lenticula
5. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. s.v. lentilha
6. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 630
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. lentille
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. lentilha
10. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. lentilha
11. ^ 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. lentilha
12. ^ a b 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. 2, 15
13. ^ 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, 1288
14. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. lentilha
15. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 5640
16. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. lentilha
17. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. lentilha
18. ^ 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. lentilha