peitoral

Forms

peitoral m or f (plural peitorais, not comparable)^[1] Houaiss records peytural in the 13th century, peitoral in the 14th and peytorall in the 15th.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pectorālis (“of the breast”), from pectus (“breast”) with the suffix -ālis; the medieval noun continues its neuter pectorāle (“breastplate, breast strap”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]}

The same Latin noun is Spanish petral and Spanish pretal, Catalan pitral, Occitan peitral, Old French poitral, French poitrail and Italian pettorale.^[6][1] Spanish also took the learned Spanish pectoral.^[7] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *pektos- for the Latin word, and finds a likely cognate in Old Irish ucht (“breast, chest”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record, of the 13th century, is from a cantiga in the Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional.^[2] In it Lopo Liaz tells someone to take off an animal's peitoral and tighten its atafal (Tolhede-lh' o peitoral, / apertade-lh' o atafal); the word is the strap of the saddle that goes round the animal's chest.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

The harness sense is the only one in the early dictionaries: Cardoso (1569) renders it with Latin antilena, and Morais (1813) describes the strap at the front of the saddle that keeps it from slipping back on a climb.^[11][12] Houaiss dates the adjective “of the chest” to 1720.^[2] Caldas Aulete then lists the adjective “good for the chest” and a noun for a chest remedy, the pectoral muscle and the part of a religious habit that covers the breast.^[13] Priberam also gives the pectoral cross of a bishop and the breastplate of the Jewish high priest.^[14]

In north-eastern Brazil the noun is the leather chest guard worn by cowherds (guarda-peito).^[2][15] In Rio Grande do Sul it is the chest strap of the riding harness, also peiteira or pretal.^[16]

Timeline

• 13th century – peitoral, the breast strap of a saddle, in a cantiga d'escarnho.^[2][9]
• 14th century – the spelling peitoral;^[11] peytorall in the 15th.^[2][3]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders peitoral with Latin antilena.^[11]
• 1720 – first date of the adjective.^[2]
• 1813 – Morais describes the saddle strap.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or belonging to the chest: a região peitoral.^[2][1][17]
2. (anatomy) Of each of the muscles of the front of the thorax: músculo peitoral maior.^[2][18]
3. Good for the chest, said of a medicine: xarope peitoral.^[2][18]

Noun

1. A medicine for the chest and lungs, a pectoral.^[2][14]
2. (anatomy) A pectoral muscle.^[18][17]
3. (equestrianism) The strap that goes round a horse's chest; the front of a horse's chest.^[2][18]
4. The part of a suit of armour that covers the chest.^[2][19]
5. The part of a religious habit that covers the breast; the pectoral cross of a prelate.^[2][14]
6. (north-eastern Brazil) A leather chest guard worn by cowherds.^[2][15]

Related words

• peito
• peitoril
• peiteira
• Latin pectus
• Spanish petral

Usage notes

Houaiss also has a feminine noun peitoral in anatomy and zoology, a shortening of nadadeira peitoral “pectoral fin”.^[2] Aurélio notes the rare parallel form pectoral for the adjective.^[18]

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 g h i j k l m n o p q Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. peitoral
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. peito
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. pectorālis
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. peitoral
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6332
7. ^ 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. pectoral
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 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. peitoral
10. ^ Lopes, Graça Videira; Ferreira, Manuel Pedro et al. (2011–), Cantigas Medievais Galego-Portuguesas [online database], Lisboa: Instituto de Estudos Medievais, FCSH/NOVA, https://cantigas.fcsh.unl.pt, p. s.v. peitoral
11. ^ a b c Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. peitoral
12. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 421
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. peitoral
14. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. peitoral
15. ^ a b Navarro, Fred (2004), Dicionário do Nordeste, São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, p. s.v. peitoral
16. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. peitoral
17. ^ 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. peitoral
18. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. peitoral
19. ^ 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. peitoral