Thread: Origin and etymology of "¿De parte de quién?"

In order to help my students remember "¿De parte de quién?" when you are asking "Who is calling,?" I would like to ask if anyone out there knows where the expression comes from?

Hi Simpatica,

I've done some research on your query as it seemed interesting to me, however I have not been able to find where that expression comes from, but I did find some other ways of saying such term, as well as some other tips for telephone communications:

Voices en Español » ¿Dígame? Tips for talking on the phone in Spanish

Voices en Español » Phone Talk, Part 2

http://oakland.stillwater.k12.mn.us/...s.cwk__WP_.pdf

Voices en Español » Telephone ABCs in Spanish

Hope you find this very useful for your students

N.

Hi Sim_patica!
The etimology of the word "parte" is: lat. pars, partis which means portion or part. In this specific phrase it means: f. Cada una de las personas o de los grupos de ellas que contienden, discuten o dialogan. (DRAE)
fem. Each person or group of people that take part in a discussion or dialog.
In a broader sense, it means: En nombre de alguien o por encargo suyo. In behalf of somebody or in the name of somebody.
In an affirmative sentence it would be:
e.g. Decile a Fulano felicitaciones de mi parte.
The order changes in questions:
¿De parte de quién?
The expression is the same but you change the Personal pronoun "mi" by the noun "quien" preceded by the preposition "de".

Hope it helps!

I have absolutely no knowledge about this, but I have a guess. Could this expression have come from an era in which an operator or a secretary or someone else typically arranged calls for someone? You know.... along the lines of "Get Mr. Smith on the line for me."----"Mr. Jones, I have Mr. Smith on line 2."

Hi María,

I don't think that could be the case, since this referred to the way spanish speakers find out who is the person that wants to talk (to somebody else). However it might be linked to your query in some aspect...

According to your example, it would be something like "Comunicame con el Sr. Smith"---"Sr. Jones, tengo al Sr. Smith en la línea 2."...

N.

So, I was thinking that if this third party placed the call, the person receiving the call would ask "de parte de quien" because the person who places the call is not the person who actually wants to speak to the person called.

Thank you, clarab. I think your explanation is what I was trying to get to in my thinking. Thank you sooo much!

Thanks for the informative websites, nicolasm.

You are welcome, Simpatica!!

My pleasure, anytime