vergonha

Forms

vergonha f (plural vergonhas)^[1] The 13th century has vergonça and vergonna, the 14th vergonha and uergõha, the 15th also verguonha.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *verecunnia, from Latin verēcundia (“restraint, modesty, shame”), written Old Galician-Portuguese vergonna in the oldest texts.^[1][2][4][5]

The old language also had Old Galician-Portuguese vergonça.^[2][3] Houaiss notes that this form runs exactly parallel to Spanish vergüenza and fits the Latin word phonetically, while vergonha matches Old French vergogne and Old Occitan vergonha, which is why Machado supposed it to be an Occitan loan.^[2] The 1920 glossary of the Cancioneiro da Ajuda instead derives vergonha from the form with -nn- and the obsolete vergonça from the classical one.^[6] Corominas explains the modern Spanish form as semi-learned, the strictly popular one being the old Old Spanish vergüeña.^[7]

The same Latin word is Galician vergoña, Catalan vergonya, French vergogne and Italian vergogna.^[1][8]

The Latin noun is derived from verēcundus (“shy, modest”), from vereor (“to revere, fear”).^[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunha and Houaiss date both old forms to the 13th century.^[3][2] In the satirical cantigas the word means respect: Airas Nunez complains of people who non ouveron vergonha dos meus cabelos canos “had no respect for my grey hair”, and Pero Garcia Burgales uses it for disgrace.^[6][10]

Semantic evolution

The medieval senses “respect, regard” and “disgrace” stand beside the feeling of shame;^[6] prender vergonha meant to bring disgrace on oneself.^[6] Cardoso (1569) glosses the word with Latin verecundia and pudor.^[11] Bluteau defines it as a passion that troubles the soul and shows on the face, born of the contempt that follows bad actions.^[12] Morais (1789) adds the plural vergonhas “the private parts”.^[13]

Modern dictionaries distinguish the dishonour itself, the feeling of it, shyness, the sense of one's own honour (ter vergonha), and an indecent act or a thing badly done.^[2][14] Vergonha is also a popular name of the sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica.^[4] The word passed into Macanese as vegónha.^[1]

Timeline

• 13th century – first records, spelt vergonça and vergonna.^[2][3]
• 14th century – the spelling vergonha.^[2]
• after 1450 – the Livro das tres vertudes.^[15]
• 1541 – first in the private letters of Post Scriptum.^[16]
• 1569 – Cardoso glosses it verecundia, pudor.^[11]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists vergonhosa cousa.^[17]
• 1789 – Morais records the plural vergonhas “private parts”.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. shame: the painful feeling of dishonour or humiliation.^[2][5][1]
2. disgrace, dishonour that humiliates.^[2][5]
3. shyness, embarrassment caused by fear of ridicule: sente vergonha de dançar na festa.^[2][14]
4. A sense of one's own honour and dignity: não ter vergonha.^[2][5]
5. An indecent or shameful act; something badly done.^[2][14]
6. The blush that shame brings to the face.^[18][19]
7. (in the plural) The private parts.^[20][13]
8. (botany) The sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica.^[4]

Word family

• envergonhar
• envergonhado
• desavergonhado
• vergonhoso
• sem-vergonha

Related words

• verecúndia
• Galician vergoña

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 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. vergonha
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. vergonha
4. ^ a b c Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. vergonha
5. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. vergonha
6. ^ a b c d 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. vergonha
7. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 788
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 9225
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ Universo Cantigas: Glosario da poesía medieval profana galego-portuguesa, A Coruña: Instituto da Lingua e Literatura (ILLA), Universidade da Coruña, https://www.universocantigas.gal, p. s.v. vergonha
11. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. vergonha
12. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. vergonha
13. ^ a b c 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, 520
14. ^ a b c Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9454
15. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. vergonha
16. ^ CLUL (ed.) (2014), P.S. Post Scriptum: Arquivo Digital de Escrita Quotidiana em Portugal e Espanha na Época Moderna, Lisboa: Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, http://ps.clul.ul.pt, p. s.v. vergonha
17. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. vergonha
18. ^ 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. vergonha
19. ^ 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. vergonha
20. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. vergonha