punho

Forms

punho m (plural punhos)^[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote punno, puno and puño as well as punho.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pugnus (“fist”), written Old Galician-Portuguese punno and Old Galician-Portuguese puno in the oldest texts.^[2][1][3] Nascentes explains the vowel: the short /u/ of the Latin word first gave /o/, which then closed to /u/ under the influence of the following palatal consonant.^[4][5]

The same Latin word is Galician puño, Spanish puño, Catalan puny, Occitan ponh, French poing, Italian pugno and Romanian pumn.^[6][1]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *pugnos and *puǵnos, from *pewǵ- (“to prick, punch”); it is related to pungō (“to sting”) and its near cognate is πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist”).^[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A Latin charter of 1136 already has the Romance form punio, in cum suo punio “with his fist”.^[3][2] In the Cantigas de Santa Maria a man is struck so that se lle çerraron os punos ambos “both his fists clenched”.^[3] The sense is the closed hand.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Barbosa (1611) has punhos de espada “the hilt of a sword” beside punhada “a punch” and punhado “a handful”.^[9] Bluteau (1712–1728) adds punho for the hand and the handwriting, as in escrever de seu punho “to write in one's own hand”, and, in the apothecaries' shops, a handful of seeds.^[10] Folqman (1755) records the shirt cuff, and Morais (1789) the phrase com a lança ou espada em punho “lance or sword in hand”.^[11][12]

Modern dictionaries put the wrist (pulso) first, the part where the forearm joins the hand, and add the handle of tools, the ring of a parachute harness, the grip of an oar, the corner of a sail and, in Brazil, the cord loops that hang a hammock.^[2][13][14]

Timeline

• 1136 – a Latin charter writes cum suo punio.^[3][2]
• 13th century – os punos ambos in the Cantigas de Santa Maria;^[3][2] Houaiss dates the spelling punho to the same century.^[3][2]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses punho with Latin pugnus.^[15]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists punhos de espada, punhada and punhado.^[9]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau records escrever de seu punho.^[10]
• 1755 – Folqman records the shirt cuff, punho da camisa.^[11]
• 1789 – Morais records espada em punho.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (anatomy) The wrist, where the forearm joins the hand.^{[2][13][14][1]}
2. The closed hand, the fist; by extension the hand.^[2][13][1]
3. (figurative) The strength of a blow with the fist.^[2][13]
4. The part of a sword or knife by which it is held, the hilt; the grip of a firearm.^[2][16][1]
5. The handle of a tool or machine.^[2][14]
6. The cuff of a long sleeve, a folded band that closes round the wrist.^[2][13][14]
7. A protective oversleeve of leather or strong cloth used in some trades.^[2][13]
8. The part of an oar held by the rower.^[2][14]
9. (nautical) A corner of a sail, where a rope is made fast.^[2][14]
10. (Brazil) The loop of cord by which a hammock (rede) hangs from its hooks; each end of a hammock.^[2][1]

Word family

• empunhar
• punhada
• punhado
• punheta

Related words

• impugnar
• púgil
• pugnador
• pugnaz
• repugnar
• Latin pugnus
• Galician puño

Usage notes

De próprio punho “in one's own hand” is said of a text written by its author.^[2][17] Em punho means held ready in the hand, as a weapon.^[18] In Portugal usar punhos de renda “to wear lace cuffs” means to have refined manners, and verdades como punhos are plain, undeniable truths.^[16] In Ceará desatar o punho da rede “to untie the hammock” means to take to one's heels.^[2]

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 j k l m n o p q r s Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. punho
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. puno
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. punho
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. 423
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. punho
9. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. punho
10. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. punho
11. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. punho
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, 264
13. ^ a b c d e f Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. punho
14. ^ a b c d e f 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. punho
15. ^ Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. punho
16. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7603
17. ^ 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. punho
18. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. punho