preâmbulo

Forms

preâmbulo m (plural preâmbulos)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin praeambulum (“preamble”), the Late Latin adjective praeambulus (“walking in front, preceding”) used as a noun.^[2][1][3] Houaiss derives it directly from the adjective, and Nascentes calls it a learned word.^[2][4] Lewis and Short mark the adjective as post-classical, with examples from Martianus Capella, and the DHLF dates it to the 5th century.^[5][3] In Medieval Latin it also meant “previous”, and as a masculine noun “forerunner” or “guide”; the neuter noun was the text placed before a legal or official act.^[6][3]

The adjective is formed from praeambulō (“to walk in front”), itself from prae- (“before”) and ambulō (“to walk”).^[1] Bluteau already explained the word as made of these two Latin parts.^[7] The verb goes back to *alā- (“to wander”), according to de Vaan;^[8][1] Wiktionary analyses it as ambi- and a verb *alō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elh₂- (“to wander”).^[8][1]

The same Medieval Latin word gave French préambule (1314), Italian preambolo, Spanish preámbulo and Romanian preambul.^[3][9][1]

Semantic evolution

Houaiss dates the word to the 15th century, from Cunha's slips of medieval Portuguese, while Cunha's own dictionary dates it to the 16th.^[2][10] The early dictionaries define it as the opening of a speech: Bluteau gives “preface, exordium” and remarks that people who ask for a loan make long preambles before they strike, and Feijó (1734) glosses it as the beginning or exordium of a discourse.^[7][11] The old Caldas Aulete adds the legal senses, the report placed before a law and the part of a decree in which the sovereign announces its promulgation.^[12]

From the introduction the word passed to any roundabout talk that delays the main point, often in the plural.^[2][13] In music it is used for a prelude.^[2][14]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record, spelt preambulo.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines preambulo as a preface or exordium.^[7]
• 1734 – Feijó lists preâmbulo as the beginning of a discourse.^[11]
• 17th century – first record of the derived verb preambular.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A preface or introduction to a speech, book or narrative.^[14][15][16]
2. A report that precedes a law or decree.^[2][16]
3. The opening part of a law, decree or charter in which the sovereign or head of state announces its promulgation.^[2][16][14]
4. (chiefly in the plural) Vague or roundabout talk that does not go straight to the point.^[2][13]
5. (music) A prelude.^[2][14]

Word family

• preambular

Related words

• ambular
• Latin praeambulus
• Spanish preámbulo

Usage notes

The set phrase sem mais preâmbulos means “without further ado, straight to the point”.^[14][15][17] Aurélio warns against confusing the noun with preambulo, a form of the verb preambular.^[14]

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. preâmbulo
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. préambule
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. preâmbulo
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. praeambulus
7. ^ a b c Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. preambulo
8. ^ 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
9. ^ 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. preámbulo
10. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. preâmbulo
11. ^ a b Feijó, João de Morais Madureira (1734), Orthographia, ou Arte de escrever, e pronunciar com acerto a lingua portugueza, Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. preâmbulo
12. ^ 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. preâmbulo
13. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7403
14. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. preâmbulo
15. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. preâmbulo
16. ^ a b c 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. preâmbulo
17. ^ 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. preâmbulo