núncio

Forms

núncio m (plural núncios)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nūntius (“messenger; message”), the noun of nūntiō (“to announce”).^[2][3][1] Nascentes calls it semi-learned and a literary word.^[4] The DLP instead takes it from the Italian nunzio.^[5] Houaiss derives the related nunciatura from Italian too.^[6]

The same Latin word is Spanish nuncio and French nonce, beside the Italian word, and Venetian has nonzolo “sacristan”.^[7] The Latin word was probably *nountio- (grammarians quote nountius), but its further origin is unclear.^[8] One hypothesis, tentatively favoured by de Vaan, connects it with Proto-Indo-European *newH- (“to cry”);^[1][9] Lewis & Short's derivation from an old verb related to novus is rejected by de Vaan.^[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first date is 1552, in the general sense of a messenger who conveys another's will.^[2] Cunha dates the word to the 16th century.^[3] In a passage of Damião de Góis's chronicle of King Manuel quoted by Vieira, the Núncio is the papal envoy who brought the crusade bull to the king.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Nascentes notes that the word specialised as “ambassador of the Pope”.^[4] Morais (1789) knows only the papal envoy who exercises jurisdiction in Castile and Portugal, while Vieira (1871–1874) and Caldas Aulete also keep the older “messenger, herald” and “forerunner”.^[11][10][12] The diplomatic rank of the núncio apostólico, usually an archbishop or titular bishop, is that of a minister plenipotentiary.^[2]

Timeline

• 1552 – Houaiss's first date.^[2]
• 1606 – Nunçio in a private letter.^[13]
• 1690 – Houaiss's first date for nunciatura, the office of a nuncio.^[6]
• 1789 – Morais defines the papal envoy.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (diplomacy, Catholicism) A nuncio: the permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a government, usually an archbishop or bishop; also núncio apostólico.^{[2][5][14][1]}
2. A messenger or herald: one who announces or conveys another's message.^[2][15][16]
3. A forerunner; a sign of something to come, a prenúncio.^[16][14]

Related words

• nunciatura
• anunciar
• anúncio
• internúncio
• Latin nūntius
• Italian nunzio

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. núncio
3. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. núncio
4. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. núncio
5. ^ 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. núncio
6. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. nunciatura
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ 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, 488
11. ^ 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, 122
12. ^ 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. núncio
13. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. núncio
14. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 6584
15. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. núncio
16. ^ a b 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. núncio