Algunas consideraciones sobre el origen de los términos hormigón y concreto

Abstract

In this work there is studied, in the frst place a certain manner of constructing which was practiced by the ancient inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, and which was seen by the Romans on their arrival. This form of constructing consisted in making walls of earth called "formaceos", and which are the basis of a rudimentary concrete. Through the ages this word "formaceos" was modified to "formicare", as a synonim of "formare"; in turn this word "formicare", for different phonetic reasons, gives us the term "hormigar" (to make concrete), and by adding the augmentative prefix ON (in the Spanish language) we have the term "hormigón" (concrete). On the other hand, in this work there is likewise studied the term "CONCRET", (concrete) a word increasingly used in Spanish speaking countries, through the infiuence of the English speaking countries. The word "concreto" (concrete) has neve been used to designate a building material, and it is only from the 19th century when, surely, it is used for this object, in order to give this material a more scientific nuance. For this reason, this work, with the object of clarifying the matter, states that as our language accepts the word "hormigón"(concrete) —referring to building material— and which is included in our dictionaries since the year 1516, we should not accept the word "Concreto" (concrete) and, above all, we should try to prevent its use being generalized in the Spanish speaking countries.