Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana

Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana stands as a foundational reference work in Spanish etymology, first published in 1961 by the renowned Catalan philologist Joan Corominas. The dictionary has undergone multiple revisions, with editions released in 1967, 1973, 1993, and 2008 by Madrid-based publisher Gredos. This concise volume presents the origins and evolution of Spanish vocabulary, designed for accessibility to general readers while maintaining scholarly rigor. The entries connect Spanish terms to their Latin roots and document relationships with other Iberian Peninsula languages, creating a comprehensive map of linguistic development. The dictionary represents a condensed version of Corominas' larger work, the Diccionario crítico etimológico de la lengua castellana, enhanced with additional entries and updates. For this achievement and his broader contributions to Romance philology, Corominas received the prestigious Premio Nacional de las Letras Españolas in 1989.

Readers found this dictionary invaluable for understanding Spanish word origins and etymology. Multiple reviewers on Goodreads and Amazon highlighted its clear organization and detailed explanations. Liked: - Comprehensive word histories - Cross-references between related terms - Inclusion of colloquial expressions - Precise dates of first documented usage - Clear writing style accessible to non-linguists Disliked: - Small font size hard to read - Some dated/archaic terms not useful for modern Spanish - Limited coverage of Latin American variants - High price point - Physical quality of recent editions (binding, paper) Ratings: Goodreads: 4.5/5 (87 ratings) Amazon Spain: 4.6/5 (156 ratings) Amazon US: 4.4/5 (23 ratings) One reviewer noted: "Indispensable for serious students of Spanish etymology, though the microscopic print requires good eyesight." Another commented: "The cross-referencing system takes time to learn but reveals fascinating word relationships."

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🔍 The original manuscript took Corominas over 15 years to complete, written mostly during his exile in Argentina following the Spanish Civil War. 📚 The dictionary contains approximately 12,000 main entries, with each word's etymology traced through various languages including Latin, Arabic, Gothic, and indigenous American languages. 🌍 Joan Corominas wrote major etymological works in three languages: Spanish, Catalan, and French, making him one of the most versatile Romance language etymologists of the 20th century. 📖 Despite being a "brief" dictionary, it became the standard reference work for Spanish etymology and influenced similar projects in other Romance languages. 🎓 While teaching at the University of Chicago, Corominas developed the innovative system of cross-referencing that made this dictionary particularly user-friendly compared to other etymological works of its time.