conto

See also: contó, contò, and cónto

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese conto. Doublet of computus.

Noun

conto (plural contos)

1. (now historical) In Portugal and Brazil, a million reis.
   • 1984, Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen R. Lane, The War of the End of the World, Folio Society, published 2012, page 506:

     ‘I have a friend […] who has filed suit against the state for the cows and sheep that the army troops ate. He's asking for seventy contos in compensation, no less.’

Anagrams

• Coton

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkon.tu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkon.to]

Verb

conto

1. first-person singular present indicative of contar

Galician

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese conto, from Vulgar Latin, from Latin computus (“calculation”). Doublet of cómputo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkonto/ [ˈkon̪.t̪ʊ]
• Rhymes: -onto
• Hyphenation: con‧to

Noun

conto m (plural contos)

1. tale, story
   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 744:

     Et diz o conto que Telémacus fuy moy bõo caualeyro a marauilla et sesudo et dereyteyro.

     An the story says that Telemachus was a wondrous knight and intelligent and righteous

2. gossip, hearsay
3. matter, issue
   • 1775, María Francisca Isla y Losada, Romance:

     Anque à prea non hègrande
     si ca si, ò sacristan
     disque à pestàna do figado
     se lle hiba alegrando já.
     Ô cont'hè, si enturra n'eso
     Deus me libre das suas más,
     que'anque eu non queira, na Coba
     de chantarme heche capàz.

     Although the booty is not large,
     yes and yes, the sacristan
     they say that his liver's eyes
     were brightening already.
     The issue is, if he persists,
     God save me from his hands,
     that even if I don't want, in the grave
     me he is capable of thusting me

4. (archaic) account, registry
   • 1280, M. Romaní Martinez (ed.), La colección diplomática de Santa María de Oseira (1025-1310). Santiago: Tórculo Edicións, page 1089:

     Aras Perez de Parrega que lles thomara seu aver de suas cassas de Mondim et de Carraszedo [...] et le britara seus contos et seus privilegios

     Aras Perez de Parrega, who took their possessions from inside their houses of Mundín and Carracedo [...] and torn their accounts and privileges into pieces

5. (archaic) calculation, number, sum
   • 1460, Rui Vasques, Crónica de Santa María de Íria, in Souto Cabo, José António (ed.) (2001): Crónica de Santa María de Íria. Estudo e edizón de ---. Santiago: Cabido da S.A.M.I. Catedral / Seminario de Estudos Galegos / Ediciós do Castro, page 110:

     Et vieron tantos mouros que nõ aviã conto et pelleJarõ cõ el rrey

     And there came many Moors, so many that they were uncountable [lit. "there was no number"], and they fought the king

6. (archaic) a million
   • 1454, X. Ferro Couselo, editor, A vida e a fala dos devanceiros. Escolma de documentos en galego dos séculos XIII ao XVI, Vigo: Galaxia, page 472:

     porque se derrocou hua ponte das grandes que en seus reynos auía, a qual era probeytosa á república de seus reynos, eno qual gastamos fasta hun conto et oyto çentos mill mrs

     because a bridge collapsed, one of the large ones in his realms and which was beneficial for the republic of his realms, and in which we spent up to a million and eight hundred thousand maravedis

7. (archaic) fine (fee levied as punishment for breaking a contract or the law)
   • 1284, E. Cal Pardo, editor, Colección diplomática medieval do arquivo da catedral de Mondoñedo, Santiago: Consello da Cultura Galega, page 69:

     poso conto de cen mor. de la bona moneda en todos aquellos que enna iglesia nen ennos dezemos nen en los montes feziese forcia nen torto nen tallase nen entrasse los montes nen dellos nen da iglesia nen de suas cousas tomasse nenguna cousa contra uoluntade do chantres

     he established a fine of a hundred maravedis of good coin in anyone who, in the church or in the tithing or in the woods, would make force or wrong or cutting or entering the woods, or would took anything from them of from the churches against the will of the precentor

8. a large quantity
9. (dated) twelve pairs of sheaves
10. (dated) forty Galician pounds of grain

Related terms

• contar
• de conto
• desconto
• estripacontos
• mazconto
• reconto

 

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “conto”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “conto”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “conto”, 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), “conto”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “conto”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Etymology 2

Verb

conto

1. first-person singular present indicative of contar

Interlingua

Etymology

From Spanish cuento and Interlingua contar.

Noun

conto (plural contos)

1. story, account
2. count, number, amount

Italian

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin *contu(s), *comptu(s), from Latin computus. Doublet of computo and compito.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkon.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -onto
• Hyphenation: cón‧to

Noun

conto m (plural conti)

1. calculation
2. account (at a bank, etc.)
3. bill (for a meal, hotel, etc.)

Derived terms

• a conti fatti
• ad ogni buon conto
• conto alla rovescia
• conto bancario
• conto corrente
• conto in banca
• conto scoperto
• fare i conti
• in fin dei conti
• per conto di
• rendersi conto

 

Descendants

• → Alemannic German: Kunte
• → German: Konto
• → Norwegian Bokmål: konto
• → Polish: konto
  • → Yiddish: קאָנטע (konte)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkon.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -onto
• Hyphenation: cón‧to

Verb

conto

1. first-person singular present indicative of contare

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Old French cointe (“known, courteous, refined”), from Latin cognitus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkon.to/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -onto
• Hyphenation: cón‧to

Adjective

conto (feminine conta, masculine plural conti, feminine plural conte)

1. (archaic) known, familiar

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Old French cointe (“known, courteous, refined”), as with Etymology 3, but crossed with Latin cōmptus (“adorned, ornamented; arranged; dressed”), perfect passive participle of cōmō (“to arrange, to dress, to adorn”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkon.to/, (high-style) /ˈkɔn.to/
• Rhymes: -onto, (high-style) -ɔnto
• Hyphenation: cón‧to, (high-style) còn‧to

Adjective

conto (feminine conta, masculine plural conti, feminine plural conte)

1. (archaic) refined, elegant, gracious

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.toː/, [ˈkɔn̪t̪oː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.to/, [ˈkɔn̪t̪o]

Noun

contō

1. dative/ablative singular of contus

References

• conto in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkõ.tu/

• Hyphenation: con‧to

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese conto, from Vulgar Latin *contu(s), *comptu(s), from Latin computus (“calculation”). Doublet of cômputo.

Noun

conto m (plural contos)

1. tale, story (account of an asserted fact or circumstance)

   Eu vou contar um conto. ― I will tell a story.

   Synonym: história

2. (literature) short story (work of fiction shorter than a novel)
3. count (a quantity counted)
   1. (obsolete) one million reis
   2. (dated, Portugal) a thousand escudos
   3. (Portugal) five euros
   4. (slang, Brazil) real (unit of currency)

Derived terms

• continho (diminutive)
• conto de fadas
• conto do vigário
• contozinho (diminutive)

 

Related terms

• computador
• computar
• cômputo
• contadaria
• contado
• contador
• contagem
• contar
• contista
• quem conta um conto acrescenta um ponto

 

Descendants

• → English: conto
• → Mwani: kontu

Etymology 2

From Latin contus (“pike”), from Ancient Greek κοντός (kontós, “type of cavalry lance”).

Noun

conto m (plural contos)

1. the butt of a spear or polearm

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

conto

1. first-person singular present indicative of contar

Further reading

• “conto”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
• “conto”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2024
• “conto” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “conto”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “conto”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
• “conto”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024