From: Mermaid Productions (info@mermaid-productions.com)
Date: Fri Jun 06 2003 - 03:16:42 EST
> Could someone enlighten me on the etymology of Spanish
'Usted'? TIA.
> James
It comes from the expression 'Vuestra Merced' (or an older form
thereof), which means something along the lines of "Your Honor"
or "your Grace". Hence the use of 3rd person verb forms with it.
Must be an Iberian thing, as Portuguese and Catalan also have
similar second-but-really-third person formal pronouns with the
same origin (você and vostè).
Thomas
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