razoável

Forms

razoável m or f (plural razoáveis)^[1] Fourteenth-century texts write razoavel, razoauel and the plurals razõavis and razoavees; the 15th century has rasoauel and rrazoauel.^[2][3] Bluteau (1720) gives razoâvel, ou razonavel.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin ratiōnābilis (“reasonable, rational”), written Old Galician-Portuguese razõavel in the oldest texts.^[1][3] Cunha, Aurélio, Vieira and the DLP also derive it from the Latin word,^[3][5][6][7] while Houaiss and Michaelis analyse it as formed from Portuguese razoar + -vel, from the verb razoar “to reason, argue”.^[2][8] Wiktionary allows both, the Latin word by descent and the verb with the suffix -ável by surface analysis.^[1] DELPo compares Spanish razonable.^[9] Porto Editora adds an influence of French raisonnable.^[10]

The Latin adjective is formed from ratiō (“reckoning, reason”) with the suffix -ābilis,^[1] and the noun from reor (“to reckon, think”).^[11][1] The noun is the source of razão, Italian ragione, French raison and Spanish razón.^[12] The adjective corresponds to Galician razoábel, Catalan raonable and Italian ragionevole.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 14th century from Cunha's medieval index, and Cunha gives the 14th-century plural razõavis.^[2][3] Its first sense is “in keeping with reason”, which Houaiss lists first as “logically plausible”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712–1728) defines razoavel as just and conformable to reason, quoting a razoavel conjectura and laws mais razoaveis.^[4] Morais (1813) still has the sense “rational, endowed with reason”, quoting criaturas razoaveis from the Ordenações Afonsinas,^[13] but Vieira (1871–1874) marks that sense as falling out of use; for him the word applies to a person who acts according to reason and fairness and to someone who is not too demanding.^[6]

The old Caldas Aulete adds “considerable, above mediocre”,^[14] and the modern dictionaries give the weakened sense “acceptable, fair, neither good nor bad”, as of a performance or a price.^[5][7]

Timeline

• 14th century – razoavel, razoauel and the plural razõavis.^[2][3]
• 15th century – the spellings rasoauel and rrazoauel.^[2]
• 1720 – Bluteau heads the word razoâvel, ou razonavel.^[4][2]
• 1813 – Morais quotes criaturas razoaveis “rational creatures”.^[13]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira marks the sense “endowed with reason” as obsolescent.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. In keeping with reason (razão); logically plausible.^[2][5][1]
2. Just, legitimate (legítimo), based on sound reasons: uma exigência razoável.^[2][5]
3. Of a person: sensible, acting with good sense, not too demanding.^[2][6][1]
4. moderate, not excessive: um preço razoável.^[5][10][1]
5. Acceptable, fair; above mediocre but not excellent.^[7][15]

Related words

• razão
• razoar
• racionável
• racional
• Latin ratiōnābilis
• Spanish razonable

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. razoável
3. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. real
4. ^ 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. razoâvel
5. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. razoável
6. ^ a b c d Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 5, 97
7. ^ 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. razoável
8. ^ 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. razoável
9. ^ NEHiLP – Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa em Etimologia e História da Língua Portuguesa, Universidade de São Paulo, DELPo: Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (online database), p. s.v. razoável
10. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7792
11. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. ratiō
12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 7086
13. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 556
14. ^ 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. razoável
15. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. razoável