nariz

Forms

nariz m (plural narizes)^[1] The plural was written narices (1228), narezes (14th century) and narjzes (15th century).^[2][3] The Crónica Troiana treats the word as masculine and feminine.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nārīca (“nostril”), written Old Galician-Portuguese nariz in the oldest texts.^[3][1][4] The Vulgar Latin word, usually in the plural *nārīcae, is explained in the DDGM and the DLP as a cross of Latin nāris (“nostril; in the plural, nose”) with nāsīca (“having a sharp nose”).^[2][5] Wiktionary takes the Portuguese word from the singular Late Latin nārīx, a reinterpretation of the plural.^[1]

Nascentes explains the singular: the Vulgar Latin plural was taken for a singular pronounced *narice, which received a new plural ending, giving Old Galician-Portuguese narices, and that plural then yielded a new singular for the nose as a whole.^[6][7] The DDGM notes that medieval texts often use the plural for the nostrils.^[2]

The same Vulgar Latin word is Galician nariz, Spanish nariz, Catalan nariu, Occitan naritz and Italian narice.^[1][8] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *nās- and Proto-Indo-European *Hneh₂-s- (“nose”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A text of 1228 glossed in the DDGM speaks of as narices do cauallo “the horse's nostrils”.^[2] In the Cantigas de Santa Maria blood pours per narizes e ollos “through nostrils and eyes”, and the Crónica Troiana describes a man with o nariz curuo “a hooked nose”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the medieval language the plural narizes usually meant the nostrils, and the singular the nose.^[2] Bluteau's supplement discusses what the shape of a nose reveals according to physiognomy.^[10] Houaiss records transferred senses: the sense of smell, a nostril, the bolt joined to the latch of a lock, the nose of an aircraft or rocket, and a part of the monotype machine.^[3] In northern Portugal nariz is also the hook on the pole of an ox cart.^[11]

Common phrases are torcer o nariz “to show disapproval”, meter o nariz em “to meddle”, dar com o nariz na porta “to find a place closed or a person out” and ficar de nariz comprido “to be disappointed”.^[3] The word passed into Kabuverdianu and Guinea-Bissau Creole as nariz and into Kristang as nares.^[1]

Timeline

• 1228 – as narices do cauallo in a text glossed in the DDGM.^[2]
• 13th century – Houaiss's date for the word; the Cantigas de Santa Maria have nariz and narizes.^[3][2]
• 14th century – the plural spelt narezes.^[3]
• c. 1450 – the Livro das tres vertudes (copy after 1450) uses nariz.^[12]
• 15th century – the plural spelt narjzes.^[3]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders nariz with Latin nasus.^[13]
• 1755 – Folqman glosses it with Cicero's nasus.^[14]
• 1871 – Vieira derives the word from Latin nares.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. The nose, the organ of smell between the forehead and the mouth: Partiu o nariz a jogar à bola.^[3][7][1]
2. The sense of smell: Aquela enóloga tem um nariz apurado.^[3][16]
3. A nostril.^[3][16]
4. The muzzle of an animal.^[5][17]
5. The bolt joined to the latch of a lock.^[3][17]
6. (aeronautics) The front end of an aircraft or rocket.^[3][16]
7. (printing) On the monotype, the cone-shaped nozzle through which the molten lead comes out.^[3][16]

Related words

• narina
• Latin nāris
• Galician nariz

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 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. nariz
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. nariz
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5824
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. nariz
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. nariz
7. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. nariz
8. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. nariz
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. nariz
11. ^ Instituto da Lingua Galega, Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (TLPGP), Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/tesouro, p. s.v. nariz
12. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. nariz
13. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. nariz
14. ^ Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. nariz
15. ^ 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, 389
16. ^ a b c d 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. nariz
17. ^ 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. nariz