| gana f. (Noun) "desire" Likely conserving a now-archaic sense of ganar meaning "to covet" or "to desire." |
| ganado (1) (Adjective) "earned" 10th cent. From ganar. |
| ganado (2) m. (Noun) "herd," "livestock," "cattle" 12th cent. Developed from a sense of earnings or won wealth, especially prevalent in antiquity when ganar likely meant to win spoils or booty. From ganado (1). |
| ganar (Verb) "to win," "to gain" 10th cent. According to RAE and Corominas (1983) putatively from an unattested Gothic word *ganan "to covet;" or according to Roberts (2014), from Gothic *ganô "eagerness." I am yet to find supporters among Germanicists for these theories. |
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gato
(Noun)
"cat"
10th cent. From Late Latin cattus 'id.' The voicing of Latin /k/ to Spanish /g/ is unexplained.
Borrowed from an Afro-Asiatic source (compare Coptic klít "cat").
Listed by Tibón (1988) as a particularly ancient nickname for physically-gifted individuals who showed agility and reflexes like a cat; then later it fossilized into the surnames Gato, Gatón, and Gata.
Romance:
Western Vulgar Latin: Asturian gatu, Portuguese gato, Galician gato, Catalan gat, French chat, Italian gatto; Eastern Vulgar Latin: Aromanian cãtushe, Romanian cătușă; Sardinian: batu
The shound shift of /k/ to /g/ did not affect c-initial words in Latin, so we are left with the question of whence the g- in gato? Considering cognates in Catalan gat and Italian gatto, we could reconstruct a Vulgar Latin variant *gattus but this looks unmotivated. A loan from another language into Spanish is phonologically fine, but at odds with the historical record.
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general
(Adjective, Noun)
"general;" (f.) "general's wife"
13th cent. From Latin generalis 'id.' From genus "class (of people)," "birth" (see género for further etymology) with adjective-forming suffix -alis (see -al (2)).
The use of generala to indicate "general's wife" instead of "general" is due to the profession of general being exclusive to men. Only recently may the feminized word refer to a general.
Romance:
Western Vulgar Latin: Portuguese general, Catalan general, French général, Italian generale; Eastern Vulgar Latin: Romanian general
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género
m.
(Noun)
"kind," "genus"
14th cent. From Latin genus 'id.'
From Proto-Italic *gen- "race," "offspring." From Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh1- 'id.,' but likely originally a verb "to birth." See also gente, germen.
Romance:
Western Vulgar Latin: Portuguese gênero, French genre, Italian genere; Eastern Vulgar Latin: Romanian gen
Indo-European:
Celtic: Gaulish Cintu-genus "firstborn," Old Irish Éogan, 2nd/3rd cent. king of Munster, Old Welsh Morgen "sea-born" (not related to the modern Welsh name Morgan, from Old Welsh Morcanth), Old Breton gen "race;" Hellenic: Ancient Greek γένος (génos) "race;" Armenian: cin "birth;" Indo-Iranian: Sanskrit jánas- "race"
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genial
(Adjective)
"brilliant," "great"
From Latin genialis "marital," but also "festive." From genius "guardian spirit" and -alis (see genio (2) and -al (2) respectively).
Romance:
Western Vulgar Latin: Portuguese genial, Catalan genial, French génial, Italian geniale
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genio (1)
m.
(Noun)
"temper;" "genius"
Originally meaning "personality" (16th cent.). The modern meanings date to the 19th cent. From Latin genius "wit," "talent." Earlier meaning was as a source of strength, and before that as the spirit of a people - which begat a second meaning in Latin of a guardian spirit (see genio (2). From gens "clan," "household" (see gente).
Romance:
Western Vulgar Latin: Portuguese génio, Catalan geni, French génie, Italian genio; Eastern Vulgar Latin: Romanian geniu
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| genio (2) m. (Noun) "Genius;" "angel," "divine figure" From Latin genius "guardian spirit." The modern sense of genio as a divine figure is taken from artistic representations of the Roman genius in art. Earlier meaning a source of strength, before that the spirit of a people - which begat a second meaning in Latin of a guardian spirit (see quote below). From gens "clan," "household" (see gente). "The worship of the Genius [the guardian spirit] was a remarkable part of the religion of the Romans; they having derived it from the Tuscans, in whose system it formed a prominent feature. The word Genius is evidently a translation of a Tuscan term, signifying Generator, and the Genius was therefore viewed as a deity who had the power of producing...When a local genius made himself visible, he appeared in the form of a serpent, that is, the symbol of renovation, or of new life. In works of art, the genii are usually represented as winged beings; an on Roman monuments, a genius usually appears as a youth dressed in toga, with a patera or cornucopia in his hand, and having his head covered. The genius of a place is represented in the form of a serpent eating fruit placed before him." M. A. Dwight, Grecian and Roman Mythology (1849) |