missão

Forms

missão f (plural missões)^[1] Old forms are misoes (13th century), mjssões (14th) and misson, mison, myssõ and missiom;^[2][3][1] missão is first recorded in 1651.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin missiō (“a sending, dispatch; release”), written Old Galician-Portuguese misson in the oldest texts.^[2][4][1][5] Nascentes considers it semi-learned.^[6] The Latin noun is formed from mittō (“to let go, send”) and the suffix -tiō.^[7][2][8] The same Latin word is Spanish misión, French mission and Italian missione.^[9][1]

Medieval Latin used the word for “cost, expense”, the sense of the oldest Portuguese records, and Old French had borrowed it with the same meaning.^[10][11][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The medieval word meant “cost, expenses”: a satirical cantiga of Pero da Ponte says non amo custa nen misson “I like neither cost nor expense”, and the Portuguese Fuero Real speaks of as custas e as missões “the costs and expenses”.^[3] Machado's first date was 1476.^[3] Lorenzo found the word earlier in the Fuero Real, and also cites por vossa custa e missiom “at your cost and expense” from 1468.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The modern senses, “a sending”, “a charge or task given to someone” and the religious mission, are those of today's dictionaries.^[2] Houaiss first records the spelling missão in 1651.^[2] Morais (1789) gives the sending of someone to preach the gospel, a sermon setting out Christian doctrine, and the land where missionaries work.^[12] Vieira (1871–1874) adds the general “power given to go and do something” and the figurative sense of the task of a person or an age.^[8] The diplomatic sense, a commission sent to another country, is in the original Caldas Aulete.^[13] Today the word also covers a delegation, a military operation and, in video games, a quest.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 13th century – first record, as misoes.^[2]
• 13th century – custa nen misson in a cantiga of Pero da Ponte.^[3]
• 14th century – the form mjssões.^[2]
• 1468 – por vossa custa e missiom.^[3]
• 1476 – Machado's first record.^[3]
• 1651 – first record of the spelling missão.^[2]
• 1789 – Morais gives the religious senses.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A task or charge given to someone to carry out; an assignment: Recebeu a missão de preparar a reunião.^[2][5][1]
2. A delegation or group of people sent to do a task, often abroad: missão diplomática.^[2][5][1]
3. A duty, obligation; a person's purpose in life.^[2][14]
4. (religion) A doctrinal sermon or series of sermons.^[2][15]
5. (religion) An institution of missionaries spreading the faith; their work; the missionaries themselves.^[2][1]
6. (religion) The house or settlement where missionaries live and work.^[2][16][1]
7. (military) An operational task;^[17][1] (video games) a quest.^[17][1]
8. The act of sending or being sent.^[15][16]

Word family

• missionário

Related words

• admissão
• intromissão
• meter
• permissão
• promissão
• remissão
• submissão
• Latin missiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. missão
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. misson
4. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. missa
5. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. missão
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. missão
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. missio
8. ^ a b 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, 269
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. misión
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. missio
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. mission
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, 86
13. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. missão
14. ^ 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. missão
15. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. missão
16. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 6216
17. ^ a b Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. missão