supremacia

Forms

supremacia f (plural supremacias)^[1] Constâncio's dictionary of 1836 has both supremacia and supremazia.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French suprématie, first recorded in Constâncio's dictionary of 1836.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French word, of 1651, is from English supremacy, first recorded in 1549, a derivative of supreme, which English took from suprême.^[2][6] Nascentes and Aurélio say the same, that the Portuguese word comes from the English one through French.^[7][8]

The adjective goes back to Latin suprēmus (“highest, topmost”), formed from superus (“upper”) with the suffix -ēmus, like extrēmus.^[9][1] Wiktionary traces it to *superisemos.^[1] Spanish has the same word, Spanish supremacía.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first date, 1836, is from Constâncio's dictionary, which defines the word as superiority;^[2][11] Cunha also dates it to the 19th century.^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

In French the word first named the religious primacy of the sovereign in the Church of England, and since 1686 also a dominant position in politics or religion.^[6] Vieira's dictionary (1871–1874) has both: superiority over all others, and the supremacia anglicana, the spiritual jurisdiction of the English king or queen, with the juramento de supremacia by which the English acknowledged their king as head of the Church.^[12]

The usual modern sense is complete and undisputed superiority, hegemony;^[2][5] Houaiss marks “supreme power” as rare, and Michaelis adds a use in sociology for the dominance of a person or group in a field of economic competition.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1549 – English supremacy.^[2]
• 1651 – French suprématie, borrowed from English.^[6]
• 1836 – Constâncio's dictionary lists supremacia and supremazia.^[2]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira records the supremacia anglicana and the oath of supremacy.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. Complete and undisputed superiority; hegemony, primacy: a supremacia naval de Portugal no século XVI.^[2][8][13]
2. (rare) supreme power or authority.^[2][8][5]
3. (history) The authority claimed by the English and British sovereigns as heads of the Church of England.^[5][12]
4. (sociology) The power of a person, group or people over the others in a field of economic competition.^[5]

Related words

• supremo
• English supremacy
• French suprématie

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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. supremacia
3. ^ 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. supremacia
4. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8740
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. supremacia
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. suprématie
7. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. supremacia
8. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. supremacia
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. suprēmus
10. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 337
11. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. súpero
12. ^ 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, 634
13. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. supremacia