uterino

Forms

uterino (feminine uterina, masculine plural uterinos, feminine plural uterinas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin uterīnus (“born of the same mother”), recorded from 1668.^[2][3][4][1] Nascentes calls it a learned word.^[5] Cunha instead takes it from French utérin, itself from the Latin adjective.^[6]

The Latin word is formed from uterus (“belly, womb”) with the suffix -īnus.^[1] De Vaan derives the noun from a Proto-Indo-European adjective meaning “outer, sticking out”, the source also of Greek ὕδερος (húderos, “dropsy”);^[7][1] Wiktionary gives it as Proto-Indo-European *úderos (“abdomen, stomach”), from *úd (“out”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is of 1668.^[2] The first dictionary to list the word, Folqman's of 1755, has only the legal phrase irmãos uterinos, brothers born of the same mother.^[8] This was the sense of the Latin word in the Roman law codes and the Vulgate, and Medieval Latin fratres uterini were half-brothers with one mother.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

Vieira's dictionary (1871–1874) treats the word as a term of anatomy and pathology for what is in or happens in the womb.^[11] The original Caldas Aulete has both senses, with the phrase furor uterino “nymphomania”.^[12] Aurélio adds an anthropological sense, kinship on the mother's side.^[3]

Timeline

• 1668 – first record.^[2]
• 1755 – Folqman lists irmãos uterinos.^[8]
• 1871–1874 – Vieira records the anatomical sense.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (anatomy) Of or relating to the uterus: uma hemorragia uterina.^[2][3][13]
2. (law) Born of the same mother but of a different father: irmãos uterinos.^[2][14][15]
3. (anthropology) Relating to kinship on the mother's side.^[3]

Noun

1. (law) A person born of the same mother as another.^[12]

Related words

• útero
• Latin uterus

Usage notes

Furor uterino is an old name for nymphomania.^[15][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. uterino
3. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. uterino
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. uterino
5. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. uterino
6. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. útero
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. uterino
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. uterinus
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. uterinus
11. ^ 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. 3, 1153
12. ^ a b c 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. uterino
13. ^ 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. uterino
14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. uterino
15. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9347