acercar

Portuguese

Etymology

From a- +‎ cerca +‎ -ar. First attested in c. 15th century. Compare Spanish acercar.

Pronunciation

Verb

acercar (first-person singular present acerco, first-person singular preterite acerquei, past participle acercado)

1. to approach
2. to approximate

Conjugation

References

Spanish

Etymology

From a- +‎ cerca (“near”) +‎ -ar. Compare Ladino aserkar and Portuguese acercar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /aθeɾˈkaɾ/
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /aseɾˈkaɾ/

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧cer‧car

Verb

acercar (first-person singular present acerco, first-person singular preterite acerqué, past participle acercado)

1. (transitive) to bring close
2. (intransitive) to zoom in
3. (reflexive) to approach, to get close, to come

   Se acerca el invierno.

   Winter is coming.

4. (reflexive) to draw near, to gather around

   acercarse más ― to come closer / to move closer / to draw closer

5. (reflexive) to become close
6. (reflexive) to get close to, to come up to, to draw near to, to walk up to, to go over to (+a)
   • Félix Torres Amat, Book of Psalms 42.4:

     Y me acercaré al altar de Dios, al Dios que llena de alegría mi juventud.

     And I shall go up to the altar of God, to the God who filleth my youth with joy.

7. (reflexive) to reach out to (+a)
8. (reflexive) to close in on (+a)
9. (intransitive) to assemble

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading

• “acercar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014