eslabón

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish eslavón, esclavón. Probably from Gothic *𐍃𐌽𐍉𐌱𐍉 (*snōbō), from Proto-Indo-European *snēp-, a variant of *(s)neh₁- (“to spin, to weave”), related to Old High German snuoba, snuaba (“loop, link”), which is possibly cognate to pre-Classical Latin numella (“collar on the neck to impede movement”). Compare further at Proto-Slavic *snopъ (“bundle, sheaf”).

Coromines and Pascual reject this etymology due to the Germanic term being attested in Old High German only, and because words of this declension are typically borrowed with -o or -a (cf. frasco), suggesting instead that it was derived from esclavo (“slave”) +‎ -ón, the former borrowed from Medieval Latin sclavus (“slave”), from Byzantine Greek Σκλάβος (Sklábos), referring to the Slav trade in slaves.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eslaˈbon/ [es.laˈβ̞õn]
• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: es‧la‧bón

Noun

eslabón m (plural eslabones)

1. link (of a chain)

Derived terms

• eslabón más débil
• eslabón perdido
• eslabonar

Further reading

• “eslabón”, 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
• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “eslabón”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), volume II (Ce–F), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 727