sim

Forms

sim^[1] The medieval forms were si and sy.^[2] Bluteau (1712–1728) still sends the reader from sim to si.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sīc (“thus, in this way”), written Old Galician-Portuguese si and Old Galician-Portuguese sy in the oldest texts.^[4][2][1][5] The Latin adverb was a locative of an old demonstrative stem with the particle -ce.^[6] It served as a word for “yes” in Italian, Sardinian, Spanish and Portuguese.^[7]

The nasal vowel of the modern word is not medieval, and the sources explain it in different ways.^[8][4] Nunes and the older tradition put it down to its opposite, Old Galician-Portuguese nom (today não); Wiktionary names the same word or mim.^[8][4][1] Nascentes saw instead the Portuguese habit of nasalising a stressed final -i, as in alfenim, benjoim, carmesim and rubim, and Machado the quality of the -i itself.^[5][4]

The same Latin word is Galician si, Spanish sí, Catalan sí, Italian sì, French si and Romanian și (“and”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunha dates si and sy to the 13th century.^[2] In the Miragres de Santiago someone asks whether Our Lady is dead, and Saint Peter answers Si.^[9] Nascentes quotes Senhor, si from the Livro de Linhagens.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The nasal form is recorded from the 16th century; the Livro dos Mártires of 1513 has it.^[4][10] Morais (1813) notes that si was once said for sim, and sim for the pronoun si.^[11] Folqman (1755) explains that Latin had no one word for it and answered with the verb of the question, and has hum dia sim, outro não “every other day”.^[12]

Besides the answer “yes”, the word stresses an assertion, warns ironically, shows impatience when repeated, and picks up a topic after a break.^[4] As a noun o sim is consent, especially to a marriage.^[4][13]

Timeline

• 13th century – si and sy.^[2]
• 1513 – sim in the Livro dos Mártires.^[10]
• 16th century – Houaiss's first record of the nasal form.^[4]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses Sim with Latin etiam and maxime.^[14]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau refers sim to si.^[3]
• 1755 – Folqman has hum dia sim, outro não.^[12]
• 1813 – Morais records responder de sim.^[11]

Meanings

Adverb

1. yes; expresses agreement, approval or consent: Queres vir? – Sim.^[4][15][1]
2. Stresses or repeats an assertion: Isso é verdade, sim.^[4][1]
3. (ironic) Warns against an intention: Sim, continua e vais ver.^[4][13]
4. (repeated) Shows impatience: Sim, sim, já percebi.^[4]
5. Resumes a topic after a break, like bem or ora.^[4][16]

Noun

1. A yes; consent: Esperou meses pelo sim dela.^[4][15][1]

Related words

• assim
• Latin sīc
• Galician si
• Spanish sí

Usage notes

Set phrases are dar o sim “to consent, especially to marry”, pelo sim, pelo não “just in case” and pois sim, which agrees or, ironically, doubts.^[4] The plural is sins.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. sim
3. ^ 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. sim
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sim
5. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. sim
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. sīc
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. sic
8. ^ a b c Nascentes, Antenor (1955), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, vol. 1: Nomes comuns, Rio de Janeiro (1st ed. 1932, preface by W. Meyer-Lübke), p. s.v. sim
9. ^ 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. si
10. ^ a b Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. sim
11. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 700
12. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sim
13. ^ a b 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. sim
14. ^ Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sim
15. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. sim
16. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. sim