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MOMENTO

Latin Lemma

momĕntum (< movimĕntum, which is not attested in Latin)

Latin POS

N

Latin Meaning

movement, motion; evidence of having gone through the metonymic the stages ‘particle sufficient to turn a scale’ > ‘short time’ > ‘cause, circumstance’ > ‘weight, importance’ L&S

Spanish

Spanish Lemma

momento

Spanish Variants

momentos

Spanish POS

N

Spanish Morphologically related words

momentáneo, momentáneamente DLE

Ranking/frequency in Spanish

121 CDEGH, 102 CDEWP, 130 J&C-R

Spanish First attestation

& el peccado que ellos deuían enmendar en un momento quieren defender por muchos annos (CORDE: Anón., Fuero Juzgo, c.1250-1260)

Spanish Historical frequency (per million words)

13C: 1.79 14C: 1.50 15C: 15.56 16C: 69.57 17C: 61.47 18C: 94.64 19C: 481.00 20C: 553.98 CDEGH
13C: 0.97 14C: 3.24 15C: 13.24 16C: 33.62 17C: 21.37 18C: 74.69 19C: 436.96 20C: 515.57 21C: 519.27 Enclave
- - - - - - - - 21C: 707.98 CORPESXXI
- - 1064-1500: 8.42 - 1501-1700: 43.68 1701-1800: 74.62 1801-1900: 407.11 1901-2005: 538.00 - CDH

Spanish Semantic history

The notion of 'movement' is distinctively rendered by movimiento, taken by Cor to be a derivative of the inherited verb mover.

» ‘very short space of time’ or ‘point in time’

& el peccado que ellos deuían enmendar en un momento quieren defender por muchos annos (CORDE: Anón., Fuero Juzgo, c.1250-1260)

» 'importance' (parallel to and maybe a calque of Lat. maximi momenti).

Y entre los muchos que inventó dió en uno que a ponerlo en execución fuera de gran momento para su fin, el qual era armar los cativos Cristianos que tenía y particulares avía mil.(CORDE: Diego de Torres, Relación del origen y suceso de los Xarifes y del estado de los reinos de Marruecos, Fez y Tarudante, before 1575)

Spanish Collocational history

Especially frequent in time expressions: en (aqu)este/(aqu)ese/aquel momento, which rise in frequency from the 17C.

Momento sicológico: see French Collocational history, moment psychologique.

Portuguese

Portuguese Lemma

momento

Portuguese Variants

plural

Portuguese POS

N

Portuguese Morphologically related words

momentâneo, momentoso Houaiss

Ranking/frequency in Portuguese

175 Davies & Preto-Bay 2008, 120 CDPWP

Portuguese First attestation

Reçebendo della muyto mayor aiuda porque nom poderia per huû soo momento durar se nom fosse sostheuda per outrem. (CDPGH: Livro da virtuosa bemfeitoria do infante Dom Pedro, 1430-1443)

Portuguese Historical frequency (per million words)

13C: 0.00 14C: 0.00 15C: 4.22 16C: 30.92 17C: 31.48 18C: 25.58 19C: 500.79 20C: 401.15 CDPGH

Portuguese Semantic history

The notion of 'movement' is distinctively rendered by movimento, said by Houaiss to be a calque from French.

French

French Lemma

moment

French Variants

plural

French POS

N

French Morphologically related words

[to be completed]

Ranking/frequency in French

148 Lonsdale & Le Bras 2009

French First attestation

affondree est en .I. moment (FRANTEXT: Anon., Le roman d’Eneas, c 1160)

French Historical frequency (per million words)

13C: 4 14C: 13 15C: 8 16C: 23 17C: 159 18C: 395 19C: 496 20C: 458 21C: 492 FRANTEXT

French Semantic history

» 'short space of time', 'point in time'

emplie l'a soudeement : / affondree est en .I. moment (FRANTEXT: Anon., Le roman d'Eneas, c.1160)

Le foudre se destourne avec le vent d'un chapeau, et les fortunes des grands estats avec un petit moment. (FRANTEXT: Pierre Charron, De la sagesse: trois livres, 1601)

» 'occasion, circumstance'

certains moments favorables et décisifs (TLF, La Rochefoucauld, Oeuvres, 1654-1659)

» 'present time' (le moment)

suivre sans regle l'impulsion du moment (TLF: Rousseau, Confessions, c.1770)

The meaning 'importance' is not usual in French.

French Collocational history

» In meaning of 'short space of time', very frequently used in the expression en un moment.

» Especially frequent in time expressions: en/à ce moment(-là), which rise in frequency from the 17C.

» dernier moment from 15C (TLF)

» moment psychologique, a calque of Germ. das psychologische Moment, which was used at the time of the bombardment of Paris in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War in the sense of ‘the decisive factor, the reason’. Le moment psychologique came to mean ‘the opportune, appropriate moment’ through misinterpretation of Germ. das Moment (neuter) ‘factor, element’ as der Moment (masculine) ‘moment’ or ‘instance’ (TLF). As such it has been calqued (presumably from French) into other Romance languages.

Italian

Italian Lemma

momento

Italian Variants

plural

Italian POS

N

Italian Morphologically related words

momentaneo, (momentaccio), (momentino) Zingarelli

Italian First attestation

per art e per ençegno entro fos envïaa, / en un solo momento serìa tuta glaçaa (OVI: Uguccione da Lodi, Libro, 13C)

Italian Semantic history

» 'short space of time', 'point in time'

» 'importance'

Il che di quanto momento fosse alla rovina dell'Occidente, assai chiaro ce lo dimostrano i tanti diluvj delle barbare nazioni, che ec. (Crusca: Pierfrancesco Giambullari, Storia d'Europa, 1.1., 1566)

Italian Collocational history

Momento psicologico: see French Collocational history, moment psychologique.

English

English Lemma

moment

English Variants

plural

English POS

N

English Morphologically related words

momentary, momentarily, momentariness, momentous, momentously, momentousness, momentum OED

English First attestation

In that selue moment Palamon Is vnder Venus (OED: Chaucer, Knight’s Tale 2584, c 1385)

Languages

References