The Etymology of Spanish Corral, Loco, and Mozo

Author(s): C. C. Rice
Source: Hispanic Review, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Apr., 1935), pp. 162-163
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/469812
Accessed: 02-04-2017 05:25 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

University of Pennsylvania Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Hispanic Review

This content downloaded from 140.206.154.236 on Sun, 02 Apr 2017 05:25:09 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 VARIA

THE ETYMOLOGY OF SPANISH CORRAL, LOCO, AND MOZO

1. CoRRAL 'yard,' 'stockyard' was cleverly explained by Diez ' as a
derivative of corro 'circle of persons'; corro as a verbal noun from
currere > correr. However, Kbrting 2 having defined corral as 'running-
place', Meyer-Liibke 3 declares that corral 'yard' is unexplained seman-
tically.
To clarify the formation and meaning of corral, it is only necessary
to observe, firstly, that the suffix -al is not attacht to verbs, so that Kbrt-
ing's definition does not exactly fit; and, further, that the formation of
corral 'large circular space' from corro 'circular space' is exactly like
that of ventanal ' large window' from ventana 'window.' In fact,
Cejador 4 defines Old Spanish corral as meaning corro grande.

2. Loco (attested in Juan Ruiz), Portuguese louco 'crazy' was asso-

ciated by Diez 5 with Latin ulucus or alucus 'owl.' The Latin word is
found only once, in Servius on Vergil, Eclogue 8, 55. Altho its phonol-
ogy is puzzling, it does seem to be the right etymon for Italian alacco,
aloco, ' owl,' ' clownish man,' Ibcco 'fool.'
Meyer-Liibke, in the third edition of his dictionary (p. 752, no. 9038 a),
while preferring this derivation, questions it on account of the phonetic
difficulty occasioned by the Portuguese diphthong, and because of the
nonoccurrence of the simple form of ulucus 'owl,' with its original
meaning, in the Iberian languages. The Spanish derivative alucdn 'owl'
is, to be sure, mentioned by him; but it may be noted that this word, con-
taining the vowel u in the second syllable, gives very little support to the
etymology in question.
As for other etymologies thus far proposed, I will mention two Arabic
derivations recorded by Meyer-Liibke (< lauke 'trap ' and < Mozarabic
yukaI 'owl '), which are rejected by him on semantic and phonetic grounds
respectively; and the derivation from Glaucus, the name of a Homeric
hero who traded his golden for iron armor, an etymology which Meyer-
Liibke declares historically impossible.
I propose to derive loco and louco from Arabic laukc 'foolishness,'
which agrees well with both the Spanish and the Portuguese form, in view
of undisputed etymologies showing Spanish and Portuguese intervocalic
c < Arabic k, such as Spanish recamar ' to embroider' < rakama, and
1 Etymologisches W&rterbuch der romanischen Sprachen.
2 Lateinisch-romanisches Wrterbuch, 3rd edition.
3 Romanisches etymologisches Wbrterbuch, 3rd edition.
4 Vocabulario medieval castellano.
5 Op. cit., 195.
162

This content downloaded from 140.206.154.236 on Sun, 02 Apr 2017 05:25:09 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 VARIA 163

Portuguese falquea
no difficulty if we
adjective lakuk' 'foolish' (masculine 'alwak). Indeed, since Romance
adjectives are sometimes patterned after feminine etyma (Meyer-Liibke,
Romanische Grammatik, II, 80 f.), the Hispanic forms may be simply from
the Arabic feminine adjective. However, it seems to me more likely that
the noun lauk is the real etymon. An exact semantic parallel support-
ing this hypothesis is supplied by French ivrogne 'drunkard,' 'drunk'
< Vulgar Latin *ebrionia 'drunkenness.'

3. Mozo, OS, mogo 'youth' is referred by Meyer-Liibke 6 to the type

*musteus 'musty,' 'fresh'; but the phonology of this derivation must be
regarded as dubious, inasmuch as Ford 7 and Hanssen 8 believe that sty
becomes x in Old Spanish.
The word is probably from *mucceus or *muccius 'sniveling.' *Muc-
ceus has already been postulated by Diez 9 to account for Italian moccio
' snivel,' moccicone ' sniveling boy.' Meyer-Liibke 10 also postulates
*mucceus to explain certain dialectic forms, but (implausibly in my opin-
ion) he derives Italian moccio directly from *muccus, explaining the cci
of moccio as due to the plural *mucci.
While the suffix -eus is usually added to designate something made of
the thing designated by the primitive noun, it was confused in Vulgar
Latin with the suffix -ius, properly indicating merely association or con-
nection, not material. Examples of the latter sense may be seen in
*gallius 'many-colored ' from gallus ' rooster,' and in *furius ' thievish'
from fur 'thief '-Vulgar Latin formations listed in Meyer-Liibke's dic-
tionary, and supported by Romance derivatives.
In view of Old Spanish brago < bracchium, the derivation I propose
must be regarded as perfectly regular in phonology.
C. C. RICE
Catawba College

LOPE DE VEGA'S LA CONQUISTA DE CORTES AND

EL MARQUES DEL VALLE

IN the bibliographies of Lope de Vega's plays there figures a lo

work entitled El Marquis del Valle.1 The authority for the assump
6 Op. cit., 3rd ed., 477.
7 Old Spanish Sibilants, 120.
8 Spanisohe Grammatik, 55.
9 Op. cit., 385.
to Op. cit., 469.
1Cf. J. R. Chorley, Catclogo de Com edias y autos de frey Lope Felix
Vega Carpio, in B.A.E., LII, p. 551 a; Catalogue of Comedias and Autos of
Frey Lope Felix de Vega Carpio, in H. A. Rennert, The Life of Lope de V
1904, p. 517; H. A. Rennert, Bibliography of the Dramatic Works of Lop
Vega Carpio, in Bev. Hisp., 1915, XXXIII, 200; Catilogo de las comedias

This content downloaded from 140.206.154.236 on Sun, 02 Apr 2017 05:25:09 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms