Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
mejores órdenes
English translation:
taking major orders
Added to glossary by
Charles Davis
Jun 1, 2015 06:34
8 yrs ago
Spanish term
Puerto Rico
Quality and Integrity
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, English, English to Spanish, and 1 more.
mejores órdenes
Spanish to English
Social Sciences
Religion
History, Catholicism
In this scholarly article about racial perceptions in nineteenth-century Puerto Rico, I am translating a list of requests for testimony made by a man who wishes to defend his family's honor and its right to be considered white and legitimate.
In the item below, he is trying to establish that his family has been accepted socially and are worthy, honorable people. I can't make out what this phrase, "mejores órdenes," means in this context.
…digan si han conocido a mi tío carnal José Betances hermano de mi padre, y si es cierto que éste tiene una hija y un hijo, así como si el último ha sido dedicado a la Iglesia, vistiendo el hábito de San Pedro **mejores órdenes** disponiéndose para el Presbiterado.
I will be very grateful for any help, not only in telling me what the phrase means, but also in fitting it into the sentence. Thank you in advance.
This was written in Puerto Rico around 1840. I'm translating into US English.
In the item below, he is trying to establish that his family has been accepted socially and are worthy, honorable people. I can't make out what this phrase, "mejores órdenes," means in this context.
…digan si han conocido a mi tío carnal José Betances hermano de mi padre, y si es cierto que éste tiene una hija y un hijo, así como si el último ha sido dedicado a la Iglesia, vistiendo el hábito de San Pedro **mejores órdenes** disponiéndose para el Presbiterado.
I will be very grateful for any help, not only in telling me what the phrase means, but also in fitting it into the sentence. Thank you in advance.
This was written in Puerto Rico around 1840. I'm translating into US English.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +3 | taking major orders |
Charles Davis
|
| 1 | best (religious) orders |
Wendy Streitparth
|
Change log
Jun 3, 2015 03:10: Charles Davis Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+3
1 hr
Selected
taking major orders
I've been staring at this for a little while and looking for anything relevant on the Internet, without success. I don't think it makes any sense. But it's suddenly occurred to me that it would make good sense if "mejores" meant "mayores", and I don't think it's implausible that it could be a variant, if not an actual error, for that. Or of course it could be a typo or a misreading of a manuscript sources.
mejores órdenes > mayores órdenes, more usually órdenes mayores, would be an elliptical way of saying "recibiendo órdenes mayores": taking major orders. This basically means priesthood: the major orders in the Roman Catholic church were sub-deaconship, deaconship and priesthood. The minor or lesser orders were porter, reader, exorcist and acolyte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_orders
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Note added at 1 hr (2015-06-01 08:07:23 GMT)
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And it does say "disponiéndose para el Presbiterado", preparing for the priesthood, so it fits to that extent.
Taking it all together I think you might say "joining the Order of St Peter and taking major orders".
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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-06-01 14:25:13 GMT)
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My guess is that this person had heard the correct expression, "órdenes mayores", but wasn't very familiar with religious language and misremembered it.
mejores órdenes > mayores órdenes, more usually órdenes mayores, would be an elliptical way of saying "recibiendo órdenes mayores": taking major orders. This basically means priesthood: the major orders in the Roman Catholic church were sub-deaconship, deaconship and priesthood. The minor or lesser orders were porter, reader, exorcist and acolyte.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_orders
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-06-01 08:07:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
And it does say "disponiéndose para el Presbiterado", preparing for the priesthood, so it fits to that extent.
Taking it all together I think you might say "joining the Order of St Peter and taking major orders".
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Note added at 7 hrs (2015-06-01 14:25:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
My guess is that this person had heard the correct expression, "órdenes mayores", but wasn't very familiar with religious language and misremembered it.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, Charles. This does make a lot of sense. I'm going with it! The term appears to be obsolete, with "minor orders" now being called "ministries," but that's a recent development. Thanks again."
43 mins
Wendy Streitparth
Germany
Germany
Native in English
Germany
45 years experience
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
best (religious) orders
My suggestion:
took the cloth of San Pedro, one of the best religious orders
took the cloth of San Pedro, one of the best religious orders
Note from asker:
| Thank you, Wendy. I think you were on the right track. |
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