refrão

Forms

refrão m (plural refrãos or refrães)^[1] The 14th-century form was refran;^[2][3] refrão is recorded from about 1543.^[2][3] Houaiss also records a form refrém.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish refrán (“refrain; proverb”), which is from Old Occitan refranh (“refrain”).^[2][3][4][5] The Occitan noun comes from refránher (“to restrain; to modulate”), from fránher (“to break”), from Latin frangō (“to break”).^[2][3][6] Nascentes, Aurélio and Michaelis take the word straight from the Occitan, which Nascentes and Aurélio gloss “birdsong”.^[7][8][9] Wiktionary and the DLE derive the Spanish word from French refrain instead; the French noun is a remodelling of Old French refrait, the participle of refraindre (“to break; to modulate”).^[1][10][11]

The Spanish word meant “refrain” first, apparently in the 13th century, and then “proverb”, because proverbs were sung in the refrains of many songs.^[6][2] The Portuguese rifão “proverb” is the same word in a dissimilated form.^[12][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss and Cunha date the form refran to the 14th century, Houaiss, with a query, after Machado.^[2][3] The modern form refrão appears about 1543.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the dictionaries of Morais (1813) and Vieira (1871–1874) the word is given only as a proverb or saying, a synonym of rifão and adágio.^[13][14] Its main modern senses are the lines repeated at intervals in a poem or song, the recurring section of a musical piece such as a rondo, and by extension anything a person says over and over.^[2][15] Houaiss links the refrain to memorising texts and to the dances that went with early popular poetry.^[2]

Timeline

• 14th century – refran.^[2][3]
• c. 1543 – first record of the form refrão.^[2]
• 1813 – Morais defines refrão as a proverb.^[13]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira: “proverb, adage; a sharp, sententious saying”.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. (poetry) A line or lines repeated at regular intervals in a poem or song; a refrain, estribilho.^[2][8][1]
2. (music) The recurring section of a piece such as a rondo; a chorus.^[2][16]
3. (by extension) Something a person keeps repeating.^[2][5]
4. A popular saying or moral maxim; a proverb, adágio.^[2][15][1]

Word family

• refraneiro

Related words

• rifão
• estribilho
• Spanish refrán
• French refrain

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. refrão
3. ^ a b c d e f g Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. refrão
4. ^ 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. refrão
5. ^ 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. refrão
6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. refrán
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. refrão
8. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. refrão
9. ^ 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. refrão
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. refrán
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. refrain
12. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. rifão
13. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 580
14. ^ a b 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, 151
15. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. refrão
16. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7912