Study of the integration of the lexical unit “placenta” in the Portuguese lexicon

Abstract

The objective of this study is to describe the integration of the lexical unit placenta in the Portuguese language, for the elaboration of the entry placenta of the Historical Dictionary of Biological Terms (Maroneze; Rio-Torto, 2023). For this, we present a theoretical-methodological discussion about Etymology and Neology, understanding that the integration of a lexical unit involves the description of the moment when it was considered a neologism. Thus, we describe the uses of placenta in ancient Latin and in modern and scientific Latin, showing how its meaning changed from “flat pie or cake” to “organ of pregnancy”. Next, we present the first occurrences of the unit in the Portuguese language, highlighting its neological uses (at the beginning of the 18th century), until the moment when it ceases to be perceived as a novelty, with its insertion in lexicographical works (end of the 18th century) and the formation of derivatives (19th and 20th centuries). Finally, we present the summarized diachronic path and the proposal for an entry that will integrate the aforementioned dictionary.