simulador

Forms

simulador m (plural simuladores, feminine simuladora, feminine plural simuladoras)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin simulator (“one who imitates; a pretender”), the agent noun of simulo (“to imitate, feign”).^[2][3][4][5] Houaiss dates the noun to the 15th century.^[2] Cunha dates it only to 1813 and calls it an adaptation of French simulateur, a French word of 1274;^[6][2] Houaiss reports this French influence as Cunha's view.^[6][2] Wiktionary takes it from the Latin word and notes that it can also be analysed as simular with the suffix -dor, and Nascentes calls it a semi-learned word.^[1][3]

The verb is recorded from 1446, first in the participle simulado.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1789) defines the adjective as “one who uses simulations”, and Vieira (1871–1874) adds the particular sense of a person who feigns an illness.^[8][9] In the 20th century the word was applied to apparatus: the first edition of Aurélio (1975) has simulador espacial, an instrument that reproduces the conditions of space for testing equipment and training astronauts.^[10] Today the commonest use is for machines that reproduce the working of another device for training, such as the simulador de voo.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record of the noun.^[2]
• 1446 – the participle simulado is recorded.^[7]
• 1789 – Morais lists the adjective.^[8]
• 1813 – Cunha's first date for the word.^[6]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira records the sense “one who feigns an illness”.^[9]
• 1975 – the first edition of Aurélio defines simulador espacial.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That simulates or feigns (simular).^[2][13][12]

Noun

1. A person who pretends to be what he is not; a dissembler, especially one who feigns an illness.^[4][14][9]
2. A simulator: a device that reproduces the behaviour of a machine, a vehicle or an environment, for study or training, as in simulador de voo.^[12][11][1]
3. (figurative) A hypocrite.^[11]

Related words

• simular
• simulação
• simulacro
• dissimular
• Latin simulator

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. simulador
3. ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. simulador
4. ^ a b 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. simulador
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. simulātor
6. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. simular
7. ^ a b Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. simular
8. ^ 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, 402
9. ^ a b c 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, 528
10. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda (1975), Novo dicionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, p. 1326
11. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8508
12. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. simulador
13. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. simulador
14. ^ 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. simulador