alentar

From Spanish alentar, as is Portuguese alentar.

• IPA^(key): [alenˈtaɾ], [alɛnˈtaɾ]

alentar (first-person singular present alento, first-person singular preterite alentei, past participle alentado)

1. (intransitive) to breathe

   Synonyms: bafexar, folguexar, respirar

2. (transitive) to encourage

   Synonym: animar

• alento

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “alentar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “alentar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “alentar” in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (2014).
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “alentar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

From Spanish alentar.^[1]

• Hyphenation: a‧len‧tar

alentar (first-person singular present alento, first-person singular preterite alentei, past participle alentado)

1. to encourage

• alento

• IPA^(key): /alenˈtaɾ/ [a.lẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧len‧tar

Inherited from Vulgar Latin *alēnitare < *an(h)ēlitāre, derived from Latin anhēlitus (“breath”).

The diphthongization in rhizotonic conjugations (yo aliento) is etymologically unexpected, considering the Latin /ē/, but may have to do with analogy with other verbs ending in -entar, such as sentar. In that case, the diphtongization in Asturian alendar would perhaps be due to Castilian influence.

alentar (first-person singular present aliento, first-person singular preterite alenté, past participle alentado)

1. (transitive) to encourage, animate

   Synonym: animar

   Antonym: desalentar

   Hay que alentarla un poco.

   She needs a little cheering up.

   El oficial alentó a sus hombres.

   The officer encouraged his men.

   • 2021 May 3, Juan José Mateo, “De la libertad a las amenazas de muerte: seis instantes clave de la campaña más polémica”, in El País‎^[1]:

     Para Pablo Casado, el líder nacional del PP, también es una jornada importante. Si Díaz Ayuso triunfa y Ciudadanos no tiene representación, alentará la idea de que la reunificación de la derecha es posible a escala nacional.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (reflexive) to gather up one's courage
3. (colloquial, intransitive, pronominal, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Chile) to recuperate; to recover from an illness.

From a- +‎ lento (“slow”) +‎ -ar.

alentar (first-person singular present alento, first-person singular preterite alenté, past participle alentado)

1. (Latin America) to slow down, become slow

   Synonym: desacelerar

   Antonym: acelerar

2. (Mexico, reflexive) to become or behave as a shy, shameful or fearful person

   Synonym: amensarse

• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “alentar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 142

• “alentar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024