Lexical Change in the Late Middle Ages: The Loss of Old Sp. Esleer and Poridad

Abstract

   This study is part of a series of research which I am currently conducting on the introduction and incorporation of Latinisms into Spanish between the late Middle Ages and the first decades of pre-modern times. I propose to examine in some detail the concurrence between Old Sp. esleer/esleír (‘to choose’) and poridad (‘secret’), inherited words which were deeply rooted in medieval Spanish, and the learned borrowings elegir (‘to choose’) and secreto (‘secret’). Regarding esleer, it is likely that the semantic discrepancy between esleer, perceived as a derivative of leer (‘to read’), and its alleged base have triggered the introduction of the Latinism elegir in the spoken language as it was gradually taking root in the written language. Unlike other medieval nouns ending in –edad or –idad, poridad was not connected with any adjectival base. In addition, compared to poridad, secreto had certain advantages because it could function both as an adjective and as a noun. It seems that the perception of words as formally and semantically integrated members of a lexical family can play an important role in determining the fate of esleer/esleír and poridad.