permanecer

Forms

permanecer (first-person singular present permaneço, first-person singular preterite permaneci, past participle permanecido)^[1] The oldest forms lose the -n- between vowels: permeesca (1221), permaesca (1270), permaescam (1288) and the infinitive permeecer (14th century), beside permanescan (1265).^[2][3] The spelling permanescer is still recorded in 1534.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *permanēscō (“to remain”), an inchoative of Latin permaneō (“to stay to the end”), written Old Galician-Portuguese permanescer and Old Galician-Portuguese permeescer in the oldest texts.^[2][4][5][1] Nascentes counts it among the semi-learned words: the forms with the regular loss of /n/ between vowels (see Forms) were given up for the form that keeps it.^[5][2][3]

The same inchoative gave Galician permanecer and Spanish permanecer, while Italian permanere and Old French parmaindre continue the plain Latin verb.^[6][7]

The Latin verb is formed from per- (“through”) and maneō (“to remain”).^[8][1] De Vaan derives the simple verb from Proto-Indo-European *mn-eh₁- (“to remain”).^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is of 1221, the subjunctive permeesca.^[2] Lorenzo gives the same date, antedating Machado, who had found the verb only in the 16th century.^[2][3] A charter of 1265 says that all the things listed permanescan ao dito mosteiro “shall remain with the said monastery”, and one of 1270 that the lease permanesca en seu reuor “shall remain in force”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The medieval charters use the verb of property staying with its owner and of contracts staying valid.^[3] Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as staying in the same state, persevering, lasting to the end, in both a physical and a moral sense, and gives permanecer na sua opiniaõ.^[10] Morais (1789) adds “to last, to exist”, with examples such as remaining in obedience to the sovereign.^[11] Today it is a linking verb (“to remain”) and also means staying in a place for a time.^[2][12][13]

Timeline

• 1221 – first record, the subjunctive permeesca.^[2][3]
• 1265 – permanescan in a charter.^[3][2]
• 1270 – permanesca and permaesca in charters.^[3] permaescam in 1288.^[3]
• 14th century – the infinitive permeecer and the form permanescã.^[2]
• 15th century – the modern form permanece.^[2]
• 1534 – the spelling permanescer.^[3]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses it with Latin permaneo and persevero.^[14]
• 1789 – Morais defines it as “to last, to exist”.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. (linking verb) To remain, go on being: A porta permaneceu fechada toda a noite.^[2][12][13]
2. (intransitive) To go on existing; to endure, last.^[2][13][1]
3. (with em) To persist or persevere in something: permanecer na mesma opinião.^[2][12]
4. (with em) To stay in a place for a time; to hold a post for a period.^[2][13][1]

Related words

• permanência
• permanente
• Latin permaneō
• Spanish permanecer

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 j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. permanecer
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. permanescer
4. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. permanecer
5. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. permanecer
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. *permanescere
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. 393
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. permaneō
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. permanecer
11. ^ 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, 190
12. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. permanecer
13. ^ 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. permanecer
14. ^ 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. permanecer