Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word trama
trama1 weft; plot
Etymology tree of trama1
From the same root · trama1
Pronunciation
Forms
trama f (plural tramas)[1]
Etymology
The word for the weft is inherited from Latin trāma (“weft, woof; web”).[2][3][1][4] Houaiss dates it only from 1552, and Cunha to the 16th century.[2][3] Bluteau (1712) calls it a Latin word.[5]
The same Latin word is Spanish trama, Catalan trama, Italian trama, Romanian tramă and French trame, the French a remaking after the verb of Old French traime.[6][7][1] In Spanish it is recorded from Juan Ruiz, already in a figurative sense.[8]
The Latin word, a weaving term recorded from Varro, may have meant the warp; the sense “weft” is that of the Romance languages.[9] Wiktionary and the OLD connect it with trahō (“to drag”), while the DHLF derives it from trāns (“across”).[1][9][7]
Earliest recorded meaning
Houaiss's first record is of 1552, with the sense of the threads that cross the warp of a fabric.[2]
Semantic evolution
Bluteau (1712) explains it as the thread the weaver passes with the shuttle, and thinks the use of trama for a trick or deceit and of tramar for “to weave” came from it.[5] Viterbo (1798) gives the senses of his day as cunning, deceit, intrigue and the thread of the shuttle.[10] Silva Bastos (1912) has the sense “intrigue” as masculine as well as feminine, and Nascentes explains the change of gender as a way to mark the figurative sense.[11][4] Modern senses include the plot of a story, the halftone screen of photoengraving and, in Brazil, a deal or barter.[12][13]
Timeline
- 1552 – first record.[2]
- 1712 – Bluteau links the sense “deceit” with the weaver's thread.[5]
- 1798 – Viterbo records the senses “intrigue” and “shuttle thread”.[10]
- 1912 – Silva Bastos gives the sense “intrigue” both genders.[11]
Meanings
Noun
- The weft: the threads that run across a fabric, crossing those of the urdidura.[2][12][1]
- A woven fabric; texture.[2][12]
- A coarse silk thread; a thick thread used for some fabrics.[2][12]
- The plot of a story or play: A trama do romance passa-se numa só noite.[13][12]
- (figurative) An intrigue, a conspiracy; a cunning scheme.[12][1]
- (photoengraving) A halftone screen.[12]
- (Brazil) A deal, an agreement; a barter.[12]
Word family
trama2 plague sore
- Confidence
- Unknown
- First attested
- 1400s
Pronunciation
Forms
trama f[2]
Etymology
The word for a plague sore or swelling is of obscure origin, Houaiss says.[2] Bluteau (1712) cites a book on the origin of the Portuguese language that holds it to be a native Portuguese expression, not taken from another people.[5] Discussing a figurative use of Spanish trama in Juan Ruiz, Corominas compares a word of the Arabic of Granada that Pedro de Alcalá glosses as a deadly bubo, pestilence and swelling.[8]
Earliest recorded meaning
Houaiss dates it to the 15th century.[2] Viterbo and Bluteau quote it from Fernão Lopes's chronicle of King John I, which says that two plague sores came out on the queen (Deraõ duas Tramas à Rainha).[10][5]
Semantic evolution
Pereira (1697) glosses it with the Latin words for a swelling and a gland, and Bluteau (1712) has trama de peste, a pestilential sore or swelling.[14][5] Viterbo (1798) calls this the old sense of the word.[10] The modern dictionaries mark it obsolete.[2][15][16]
Timeline
- 15th century – first record.[2]
- 1697 – Pereira glosses trama as “swelling”.[14]
- 1712 – Bluteau records trama de peste.[5]
- 1798 – Viterbo marks the sense “plague sore” as old.[10]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. trama
- ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. trama
- ^ a b Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. trama
- ^ a b c d e f g Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. trama
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 8847
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. trame
- ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 585
- ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. trāma
- ^ a b c d e f g Viterbo, Joaquim de Santa Rosa de (1798–1799), Elucidario das palavras, termos e frases que em Portugal antiguamente se usárão, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 387
- ^ a b Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. trama
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. trama
- ^ 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. trama
- ^ a b c 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. trama
- ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. trama
- ^ 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. trama
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Trama.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/trama. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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