madeixa

Forms

madeixa f (plural madeixas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin mataxa (“rough thread, tow”), a word also spelt metaxa.^[2][1][3] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek μέταξα (métaxa, “raw silk”), itself of unknown origin.^[1]

The same Latin word is Galician madeixa, Spanish madeja, Catalan madeixa, Old Occitan madaisa and Italian matassa.^[4][5] Corominas notes that the word took the sense “skein” in every Romance language.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to 1553.^[2] Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 translates it with Latin metaxa.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is a skein of silk, wool, cotton or linen.^[7][2] Bluteau (1712–1728) calls madeixa a Castilian word, meaning meada “skein” in that language, and notes that Portuguese poets use it for the hair of the head, and Morais (1813) quotes madexa de cabellos for twisted locks and madeixas for hair.^[8][9] The DLP and Porto Editora record a recent use for highlights, strands of hair dyed or bleached a different shade.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1553 – first record.^[2]
• 1569 – Cardoso translates it with Latin metaxa.^[7]
• 1697 – Pereira gives Latin mataxa.^[12]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau calls it Castilian and notes the poets' use for hair.^[8]
• 1813 – Morais quotes madeixas for hair.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A quantity of wool, cotton, linen or silk wound off a reel so that it can be made into balls; negalho.^[2][13]
2. A small skein (meada).^[2][14][1]
3. A lock of hair; a tress (trança): uma madeixa loira caía-lhe sobre a testa.^[2][13][1]
4. (chiefly in the plural) highlights: strands of hair dyed or bleached a different shade from the rest.^[10][11]

Related words

• mecha
• meada
• Latin mataxa
• Spanish madeja

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. madeixa
3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. madeixa
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5403
5. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. mataxa
6. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 753
7. ^ a b c Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. madeixa
8. ^ 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. madeixa
9. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 246
10. ^ a b 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. madeixa
11. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 5830
12. ^ Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. madeixa
13. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. madeixa
14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. madeixa