perdão

Forms

perdão m (plural perdões)^[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote perdon, plural perdões; the cancioneiros also have the variant pardon.^[2][3] Houaiss records perdõ and perdão in the 15th century.^[3] Wiktionary lists the old spellings perdaõ and perdam.^[1]

Etymology

It is from Portuguese perdoar (“to forgive”), a noun made from the verb, and was written Old Galician-Portuguese perdon in the oldest texts.^[4][5][6][1] The DDGM's glossary of the Ajuda songbook also calls it a postverbal noun.^[2] Houaiss explains it another way: as Medieval Latin perdonet (“may he forgive”), a subjunctive form of the Medieval Latin verb used as an exclamation, which later became a noun.^[3] Porto Editora instead derives it from Late Latin perdōnum, and Priberam calls its origin controversial.^[7][8]

The verb continues Late Latin perdōnō (“to forgive”), recorded from about 350–500 CE and formed from per- and dōnō (“to give, present”).^[1][9][10] The same Latin verb has given the nouns Galician perdón and Spanish perdón.^[11][12]

The final ⟨-on⟩ of the medieval form became the nasal diphthong ⟨-ão⟩, as Houaiss's dated forms show: ⟨perdon⟩ in the 13th century, ⟨perdõ⟩ and ⟨perdão⟩ in the 15th.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the noun to the 13th century from Cunha's medieval index.^[3] The Cantigas de Santa Maria use it often, in phrases such as aver perdon “to obtain pardon”, pedir perdon “to ask forgiveness” and gaannar perdon “to earn pardon”, and in the plural perdões for the graces of the Virgin: pois ar fez perdon aver “for she again made him obtain pardon”.^[2] The glossary of the Cancioneiro da Ajuda gives two senses, “excuse” and “papal indulgence”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Medieval texts use the word for God's forgiveness of sins, for an indulgence granted by the Church, and for the forgiveness of one person by another; a Galician record has perdón que fiso for a formal act of pardon between two men.^[2][11] Barbosa (1611) has perdoanças do Papa for papal indulgences beside perdão itself.^[13] Morais (1789) defines it as the absolution of a fault and the remission of the penalty incurred.^[14]

In law it came to mean the remission of a debt or penalty, and an act by which someone is released from an obligation by the person who could exact it.^[3][15] As a polite formula, peço perdão “I ask pardon” or simply perdão, it is used to apologise and to ask for someone's attention.^[15][1]

Timeline

• 13th century – the Cantigas de Santa Maria have perdon and perdões.^[2]
• 13th century – a cantiga d'escarnho by Pero da Ponte: o perdon é cousa mui preçada “pardon is a thing of great price”.^[2]
• 15th century – the forms perdõ and perdão.^[3]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses Perdão with Latin venia and indulgentia.^[16]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists perdão and perdoanças do Papa.^[13]
• 1789 – Morais: absolution of a fault and remission of the penalty.^[14]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira quotes the Peregrinação of Fernão Mendes Pinto: perdão de nossos peccados “pardon of our sins”.^[17]

Meanings

Noun

1. pardon, forgiveness: the remission of a penalty, an offence or a debt; an indulto: Pediu perdão à irmã.^[3][8][1]
2. The act by which a person is released from a duty or obligation by the one who had the right to demand it.^[3][15]
3. (religion) The remission of sins.^[15][6]
4. indulgence, benevolence; readiness to tolerate a fault.^[8][6]
5. (obsolete) A Breton pilgrimage.^[18]

Interjection

1. sorry: used to apologise: Perdão, pisei-lhe o pé!^[3][1][6]
2. (somewhat formal) excuse me: used to catch someone's attention or to ask them to repeat something.^[1]

Related words

• imperdoável
• perdoador
• perdoamento
• perdoança
• perdoar
• perdoável
• doar
• Late Latin perdōnō
• Spanish perdón

Usage notes

The phrase peço perdão “I beg your pardon” is the full form of the apology that is usually shortened to perdão!.^[15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. perdon
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. perdão
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. perdão
5. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. perdão
6. ^ a b c d 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. perdão
7. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7072
8. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. perdão
9. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. perdoar
10. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. perdoar
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. perdón
12. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 488
13. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. perdão
14. ^ 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, 186
15. ^ a b c d e 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. perdão
16. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. perdão
17. ^ 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, 748
18. ^ 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. perdão