nogueira

Forms

nogueira f (plural nogueiras)^[1] Houaiss records nogaria in 946, nogueira in 1086 and nogueyra in the 15th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nucāria, an adjective understood with arbor (“tree”), “the nut tree”.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Houaiss calls the form Medieval Latin, Nascentes and Aurélio Vulgar Latin, and Wiktionary Late Latin; all derive it from Latin nux (“nut”).^[2][6][1]

The same formation is Spanish noguera, Catalan noguera, Occitan noguièr and French noyer.^[1] Spanish more often says nogal, built on the Latin word for nut with another suffix, while Italian names the tree noce, like the nut.^[7]

Wiktionary traces the Latin noun to Proto-Italic *knuks, from a root also found in Proto-Celtic *knūs and Proto-Germanic *hnuts, and notes that its restriction to these three branches has suggested a non-Indo-European origin.^[1] De Vaan argues for a loanword from a non-Indo-European language.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's earliest dates, taken from Machado, are 946 for nogaria and 1086 for nogueira.^[2] The spelling nogueyra is recorded in the 15th century, and the Vida de Santo Elói of 1491 uses the word.^[2][9] A cantiga d'escarnho already names a nun “of Nogueira”, probably the monastery of that name in Galicia.^[10]

Semantic evolution

Cardoso (1569) and Pereira (1697) gloss the word with Latin juglans.^[11][12] Bluteau describes a large, handsome tree with strong-smelling leaves, whose nut is wrapped in a green spiny husk called ouriço; he also lists Nogueira as a town in Beira and a family name.^[13] The word also names the tree's prized wood, and in Brazil the candlenut tree, nogueira-de-iguape.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 946 – nogaria, Houaiss's earliest date, after Machado.^[2]
• 1086 – nogueira.^[2]
• 1400s – the spelling nogueyra.^[2]
• 1491 – the Vida de Santo Elói uses nogueira.^[9]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary lists Nogueira.^[11]
• 1813 – Cunha's date for the word, from Morais.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The walnut tree (Juglans regia), whose fruit is the noz.^[2][6][1]
2. The wood of this tree, used for furniture.^[2][4]
3. (Brazil) The candlenut tree (Aleurites moluccana), nogueira-de-iguape.^[2]

Related words

• noz
• Latin nux
• Spanish noguera

Usage notes

Nogueira is a common Portuguese surname, at first taken from a place name.^[14][1]

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. nogueira
3. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. nogal
4. ^ a b c 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. nogueira
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. nogueira
6. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. nogueira
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 355
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 Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. nogueira
10. ^ Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. nogueira
11. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. nogueira
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. nogueira
13. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. nogueira
14. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1952), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 2: Nomes próprios, Rio de Janeiro, p. s.v. nogueira