# alentar
## Galician
### Etymology

From Spanish alentar, as is Portuguese alentar.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [alenˈtaɾ], [alɛnˈtaɾ]

### Verb

alentar (first-person singular present alento, first-person singular preterite alentei, past participle alentado)
* (intransitive) to breathe
    Synonyms: bafexar, folguexar, respirar
* (transitive) to encourage
    Synonym: animar

#### Conjugation

$^1$Less recommended.

#### Derived terms

* alento

### References

* 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

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Spanish alentar.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /a.lẽˈta(ʁ)/ [a.lẽˈta(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /a.lẽˈta(ʁ)/ [a.lẽˈta(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /a.lẽˈta(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /a.lẽˈta(ʁ)/ [a.lẽˈta(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /a.lẽˈta(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐ.lẽˈtaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ɐ.lẽˈtaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ɐ.lẽˈta.ɾi/
* Hyphenation: a‧len‧tar

### Verb

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

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Derived terms

* alento

### References

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

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /alenˈtaɾ/ [a.lẽn̪ˈt̪aɾ]
* Audio (Venezuela):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: a‧len‧tar

### Etymology 1

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.

#### Verb

alentar (first-person singular present aliento, first-person singular preterite alenté, past participle alentado)
* (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: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)
* (reflexive) to gather up one's courage
* (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.

##### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

##### Derived terms

* alentador
* desalentar

##### Derived terms

* aliento

### Etymology 2

From a- +‎ lento (“slow”) +‎ -ar.

#### Verb

alentar (first-person singular present alento, first-person singular preterite alenté, past participle alentado)
* (Latin America) to slow down, become slow
    Synonym: desacelerar
    Antonym: acelerar
* (Mexico, reflexive) to become or behave as a shy, shameful or fearful person
    Synonym: amensarse

##### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

##### Related terms

* alentarse

### References

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

### Further reading

* “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], 2024 December 10