máximo

Forms

máximo (feminine máxima, masculine plural máximos, feminine plural máximas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin maximus (“greatest”), the superlative of magnus (“great”).^[2][3][4][1] Nascentes counts it among the learned words.^[4] The adverb maximamente is recorded first, in 1572; the adjective follows in 1696 and the noun in the 18th century.^[2][3]

Only Old French had a popular outcome of the Latin word, Old French maisme; Italian massimo and Spanish máximo are learned like the Portuguese word.^[5]

De Vaan traces the superlative to Proto-Italic *magisamo- (“greatest”), beside the comparative of the same root, and traces the positive adjective to Proto-Indo-European *mǵ-no- (“great”).^[6] Wiktionary gives the root as *méǵh₂s (“great”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest record is of the adverb maximamente, in 1572, and Cunha too dates the adverb to the 16th century; the adjective appears in the feminine máxima in 1696.^[2][3] Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as “superlatively great” and quotes o Maximo de todos os Doutores from Vieira.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The noun came in through mathematics: Morais (1789) enters only the noun, “the highest degree a magnitude can reach”, and Morais (1813) adds the adjective, “superlative of grande”.^[8][9] Vieira (1871–1874) widens the noun to the highest price, sum or penalty, and figuratively to the highest point anything can reach.^[10]

In European Portuguese the plural máximos names the high-beam headlights of a car.^[11][12][1] In Brazil ser o máximo means to be outstanding at something or very gifted.^[2]

Timeline

• 1572 – first record of the adverb maximamente.^[2]
• 1696 – the adjective, in the feminine máxima.^[2]
• 17th century – Cunha's date for the adjective.^[3]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as “superlatively great”.^[7]
• 18th century – the noun.^[2]
• 1789 – Morais enters the noun as a term of mathematics.^[8]
• 1813 – Morais adds the adjective.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Greatest, highest; reaching the highest degree: a velocidade máxima.^{[2][13][14][1]}
2. Absolute, utmost: com o máximo cuidado.^[13][14]

Noun

1. The maximum: the greatest amount or highest degree.^[2][13][1]
2. (mathematics) The greatest value of a function in an interval, or the greatest element of a set.^[2][14][1]
3. (Portugal, in the plural) High-beam headlights.^[11][1]

Related words

• máxima
• máxime
• magno
• maior
• majestade
• Latin maximus
• Spanish máximo

Usage notes

Houaiss and Aurélio accept two pronunciations of the ⟨x⟩, /ks/ and /s/.^[2][13] Priberam, Porto and Wiktionary give only /s/.^[11][12][1] Set phrases: no máximo “at most”, máximo divisor comum “greatest common divisor”, and Brazilian ser o máximo “to be the best”.^[2][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. máximo
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. máximo
4. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. máximo
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5446
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ 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. máximo
8. ^ 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, 66
9. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 278
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. 4, 171
11. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. máximo
12. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 6023
13. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. máximo
14. ^ 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. máximo