pacificar

Forms

pacificar (first-person singular present pacifico, first-person singular preterite pacifiquei, past participle pacificado)^[1] The oldest texts write paceficar and apacificar;^[2][3][4] Houaiss also records paçefficar from the 15th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin pācificō (“to negotiate peace; to pacify”), written Old Galician-Portuguese paceficar in the 13th century.^[4][3][1][5] The Latin verb is formed from pāx (“peace”) and -ficō (“making”).^[6][1]

The same Latin verb gave popular Spanish apaciguar and Catalan apaivagar, while Spanish pacificar is learned.^[7][8] Portuguese took the Spanish verb as apaziguar, which is thus a doublet of the learned verb.^[9][1] French pacifier was borrowed from Latin in the 13th century, first as pacefier.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lorenzo's chronology has it first in a charter of 1287: aquelas demandas… son paceficadas “those disputes are settled”.^[2] The Galician version of the Crónica Geral has apacificasem todallas contendas “that they should settle all the disputes”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the medieval chronicles the verb means both to settle a dispute and to subdue a land: the Crónica of 1344 says that the king pacificou toda a terra.^[11][2] Bluteau defines it as to appease or establish peace.^[12] Morais in 1789 adds to quieten those at odds, to make rebels obey and to reconcile enemies.^[13] Later dictionaries give the reflexive “to become calm” and the sense of soothing feelings, and in Brazil it is used for bringing an indigenous group out of a hostile state.^{[4][14][15][16]}

Timeline

• 1287 – son paceficadas in a charter.^[2]
• 1344 – pacificou toda a terra in the Crónica of 1344.^[11]
• 15th century – the spelling paçefficar.^[4]
• 1518 – paçificar in the Espelho de Cristina.^[17]
• 1569 – Cardoso translates it as Latin paco.^[18]
• 1734 – Feijó notes the stress of the verb form pacifico on -fi-, unlike the adjective pacífico.^[19]
• 1789 – Morais gives the senses “restore peace” and “reconcile”.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To restore peace to; to end war, revolt or disorder in: pacificar o país.^[4][15][14]
2. (transitive) To calm, appease or soothe (feelings, a person).^[15][14][20]
3. (pronominal) To become peaceful or calm again.^[4][14]
4. (Brazil, transitive) To bring (an indigenous group) out of a hostile state.^[16]

Related words

• paz
• pacífico
• apaziguar
• Latin pacifico

Usage notes

Feijó already warns that the verb form pacifico “I pacify”, stressed on -fi-, must not be confused with the adjective pacífico.^[19][21]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. paceficar
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. pacificar
4. ^ 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. pacificar
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. pacificar
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. pacificare
9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. apaziguar
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b 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. paçificar
12. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. pacificar
13. ^ 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, 145
14. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. pacificar
15. ^ 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. pacificar
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. pacificar
17. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. paçificar
18. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. pacificar
19. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. pacificar
20. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. pacificar
21. ^ 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. pacificar