potentado

Forms

potentado m (plural potentados)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin potentātus (“power, rule, dominion”).^[2][3][4] The Latin noun is formed from potēns (“powerful”) with the suffix -ātus.^[1][5] Nascentes calls the Portuguese word semi-learned.^[4] In classical Latin it meant the holding of power, as in Caesar;^[6][7] Bluteau (1712–1728) remarks that Caesar used it for the lands or jurisdiction, not for the ruler himself.^[6][7] Medieval Latin used it for seigniorial power, and in the plural for “the mighty”;^[8][9] Du Cange quotes it for a supreme prince in a papal letter of 1456.^[8][9]

The same word is Spanish potentado, French potentat and Romanian potentat.^[1][10] French borrowed it from Medieval Latin in 1372–1374.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunha dates the word to the 16th century, and Houaiss's first date is before 1608, in the sense “sovereign of a state with great power and wealth”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712–1728) defines it as a powerful king or great prince with absolute power, and Morais (1789) gives the example os Potentados de Alemanha.^[7][12] By extension it came to mean any very rich or influential person, and the DLP marks this sense as depreciative.^[2][13] Aurélio gives potestade as a synonym.^[14]

Timeline

• 16th century – Cunha's date for the word.^[3]
• before 1608 – Houaiss's first date.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines a king with absolute power.^[7]
• 1789 – Morais gives os Potentados de Alemanha.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A potentate: the sovereign of a powerful state, a prince of great authority or material power.^[2][14][1]
2. (by extension) A very rich, powerful or influential person; often (derogatory).^[2][13][15]

Related words

• potente
• potência
• poder
• potestade
• Latin potentātus
• Spanish potentado

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. potentado
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. potentado
4. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. potentado
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. potentātus
6. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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. potentado
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. potentatus
9. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre, p. s.v. potentatus
10. ^ 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. potentado
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. potentat
12. ^ 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, 225
13. ^ 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. potentado
14. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. potentado
15. ^ 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. potentado