viscoso

Forms

viscoso (feminine viscosa, masculine plural viscosos, feminine plural viscosas, comparable, comparative mais viscoso, superlative o mais viscoso or viscosíssimo, metaphonic)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin viscōsus (“sticky”).^[2][3][4][1] Cunha, who dates it only from 1844, takes it instead as an adaptation of French visqueux, itself from the Late Latin word.^[5] Wiktionary adds that it can be analysed within Portuguese as visco with the suffix -oso.^[1]

The same Latin adjective gave Spanish viscoso, Catalan viscós, Italian viscoso and Romanian vâscos.^[6][1]

The Latin adjective is formed from viscum (“mistletoe; birdlime”) with the suffix -ōsus.^[1] De Vaan connects the Latin noun with Ancient Greek ἰξός (ixós, “mistletoe, birdlime”) and considers it either an inherited word or a European loanword.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cardoso's dictionary of 1569 already lists viscoso with the Latin viscosus.^[8] Houaiss's first text record is of 1661, and Bluteau quotes a medical book, the Luz da Medicina, on thick and viscous humours.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau defined the word as sticky, sharing the nature of birdlime, and Morais in 1789 as sticky like birdlime or smeared with it.^[9][10] Vieira added the physical sense of a liquid whose molecules cling to one another.^[11] A figurative sense, “tiresome, clinging” of a person, is recent.^[2][12]

Timeline

• 1566 – first record of the noun viscosidade.^[13]
• 1569 – Cardoso's dictionary lists viscoso.^[8]
• 1661 – Houaiss's first text record.^[2]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as sticky like birdlime.^[9]
• 1789 – Morais: sticky like birdlime; smeared with birdlime.^[10]
• 1844 – Cunha's first date.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having or secreting visco or sap.^[2][4]
2. Of a thick, gluey consistency; viscous, syrupy.^[2][12][1]
3. sticky, adhesive; pegajoso.^[2][14]
4. Covered with a sticky layer: O chão do porão estava viscoso de lodo.^[2][12]
5. (figurative) tiresome, clinging and importunate.^[2][12][15]

Related words

• visco
• viscosidade
• Latin viscum
• Galician visgo
• Spanish viscoso

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. viscoso
3. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. viscoso
4. ^ a b Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. viscoso
5. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. viscoso
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 9375
7. ^ 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. viscum
8. ^ a b Cardoso, Jerónimo (1569–1570), Dictionarium ex lusitanico in latinum sermonem, Lisboa: João Álvares (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. viscoso
9. ^ 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. viscoso
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, 530
11. ^ 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, 966
12. ^ a b c d 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. viscoso
13. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. viscosidade
14. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. viscoso
15. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 9539