vexação

Forms

vexação f (plural vexações)^[1] Old forms are uexaçom and vexaçom (14th century) and uexacion (15th century).^[2][3] Bluteau heads it vexaçaõ.^[4] Aurélio records the variant avexação.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vexātiō (“shaking; suffering; torment”), first written Old Galician-Portuguese uexaçom in the 14th century.^[3][2][1] Nascentes calls it semi-learned.^[6] Wiktionary adds that it can be analysed within Portuguese as vexar with the suffix -ção.^[1]

The same Latin noun gave Spanish vejación, Catalan vexació, French vexation, Italian vessazione and Romanian vexațiune.^[7][1]

The Latin noun is formed from vexō (“to agitate, damage”) with the suffix -tiō.^[8] De Vaan explains the verb either as an iterative built on a past participle *vexus of vehō (“to carry”), or as an independent s-present.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cunha and Houaiss date the first record to the 14th century, spelt uexaçom, from Cunha's index of medieval Portuguese.^[2][3] The Latin word had meant a violent shaking before it meant trial and torment.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau defined vexaçaõ as persecution or ill-treatment, used above all of litigants who harass the other party with unjust suits and of petty rulers who oppress a province.^[4] Morais in 1789 gave the act of vexing, the ill-treatment suffered and a tight spot.^[10] The sense of shame and embarrassment came to the fore later, and today the word is close to vexame.^[3][11] The European dictionaries also record a religious sense, demonic possession.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 14th century – first record, spelt uexaçom.^[2][3]
• 15th century – the spelling uexacion.^[2]
• 1589 – first record of the verb vexar.^[14]
• before 1595 – first record of vexame, spelt uexame.^[15]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines vexaçaõ as persecution and ill-treatment.^[4]
• 1789 – Morais lists the senses “act of vexing”, “ill-treatment” and “tight spot”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of vexing; vexame.^[3][5][16]
2. oppression or persecution imposed by force or authority; ill-treatment, tribulation.^[3][11][12]
3. shame, embarrassment, bashfulness.^[3][17]
4. (Portugal, religion) Demonic possession.^[12][13]

Related words

• vexar
• vexame
• Latin vexātiō
• Spanish vejación

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. vexação
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. vexação
4. ^ a b c Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. vexaçaõ
5. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. vexação
6. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. vexação
7. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. vejación
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. vexatio
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. vexo
10. ^ 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, 522
11. ^ 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. vexação
12. ^ a b c 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. vexação
13. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9480
14. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. vexar
15. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. vexame
16. ^ 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. vexação
17. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. vexação