pisar

Forms

pisar (first-person singular present piso, first-person singular preterite pisei, past participle pisado)^[1] Houaiss records pisasse in the 14th century and pissen and piza in the 15th;^[2][3] Bluteau still allows pizar.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pīnsō (“to pound, crush”), a first-conjugation variant of the classical third-conjugation verb, in the spoken form without its /n/ that Houaiss and Cunha write as pisāre.^[2][4][5][1] Wiktionary gives the same chain, with a Vulgar Latin stage and the medieval Old Galician-Portuguese pisar.^[1] Corominas notes that the form without /n/ is found in some early Latin authors and in several of late antiquity.^[5]

The same verb is Galician pisar, Spanish pisar and Catalan pisar.^[1][5] The Latin verb continues *pinsō, a nasal-infix present of Proto-Indo-European *peys- (“to crush”); its cognates include Sanskrit पिनष्टि (pinaṣṭi, “grinds”).^[1][6] De Vaan adds that Latin pīlum (“pestle”) and pistor (“miller, baker”) belong to the same root.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record that Lorenzo gives is a cantiga d'escárnio of Alfonso X: pisaredes as olivas / con os pees ena pia “you will tread the olives with your feet in the trough”.^[7][8] Houaiss and Cunha date the verb to the 13th century.^[2][4] The earliest sense is therefore treading olives or grapes to press them, and the medieval notarial books of Rianjo use it for treading grapes for the must.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 translates it with Latin pinso and contundo, “to pound, to bruise”.^[9] Bluteau (1712–1728) gives “to bear down with the soles of the feet”, treading grapes in the press and pounding in a mortar.^[3] Morais (1789) adds the nuance of contempt, quoting Camões on Diogenes treading on Plato's proud carpets, and the phrase pisar miúdo “to take short steps”.^[10] Treading led to “to walk on, to set foot in”, while pounding gave “to bruise”, which survives in pisadura “bruise”.^[11][4] The figurative “to humiliate, to offend” is in modern dictionaries.^[12][13] Derivatives followed: pisadura in the 16th century, piso “floor” in 1813, pisada “footprint” in 1844 and pisotear in the 20th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 13th century – a cantiga of Alfonso X: pisaredes as olivas.^[7][2]
• 14th century – pisasse; 15th century pissen and piza.^[2]
• 16th century – the derivative pisadura.^[4]
• 1569 – Cardoso renders it with Latin pinso.^[9]
• 1712 – Bluteau lists treading grapes and pounding in a mortar.^[3]
• 1789 – Morais notes the sense of contempt and pisar miúdo.^[10]
• 1813 – first record of piso.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To step on, to put one's feet on: Não pises o tapete com os sapatos sujos.^[2][11][1]
2. (intransitive) To tread, to walk; to take steps.^[2][12]
3. To crush with the feet; to stomp; especially to tread grapes or olives.^[2][14][1]
4. To pound or grind in a mortar.^[12][13]
5. To set foot in, to walk across (a place or a country); pisar o palco: to act on the stage.^[12][11]
6. To bruise with a blow.^[12][11]
7. (figurative) To trample on; to humiliate, to offend.^[12][13]
8. To press (a pedal): pisar no acelerador.^[14]

Word family

• pisa
• pisada
• pisadela
• pisadura
• piso
• pisotear
• repisar

Related words

• pisador
• pisão
• Latin pīlum

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. pisar
3. ^ a b c d Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. pisar
4. ^ a b c d e f Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. pisar
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 565
6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c 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. pisar
8. ^ 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. pisar
9. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. pisar
10. ^ 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, 206
11. ^ 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. pisar
12. ^ a b c d e f Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. pisar
13. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7222
14. ^ a b 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. pisar