The origin of the term "emphasis" is linked to the action of leaning on the foot to apply force.
The term "emphasis" refers to the act of leaning on one's foot to exert force or as support. However, beyond this first meaning mentioned by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) in its dictionary, the concept is usually used in the context of an adverbial phrase .
To emphasize , in this context, refers to stressing, underlining or accentuating something . The expression is linked to insisting on an idea, an action , etc. For example: “The mayor stressed the need to cut public spending in order to put the municipality's accounts in order” , “During my speech I will emphasize the link between street violence and alcohol abuse” , “The coach usually emphasizes that we must maintain concentration throughout the game, since any distraction can lead to defeat” .
Suppose a president, upon taking office, gives a speech to the population detailing what he believes will be the main challenges of his administration. In his speech - which lasts for an hour - he says the word "inflation" twenty times. Political analysts therefore mention that the new president's speech emphasized inflation as his most important challenge.
Concept of emphasis
Having given some examples of the use of this term in a symbolic sense, we can return to its etymology to try to understand why it has followed this semantic path until reaching a use that is far from its original meaning. As can be seen at first glance, this word is composed of the verb hincar and the noun pie . The action of hincar can be defined as "to nail or introduce one thing into another", or "to support one thing on another with the intention of nailing it into the latter".
To dig one's foot, therefore, is to place it in a very well-defined position, with the intention of nailing it there so that it remains firm or to push off with force . Some scholars of the language point out that its origin may perhaps be found in the practice of high or long jump, in which athletes had to dig their foot in an exact point and with a very defined position for their performance to be effective.
To emphasize means to emphasise or highlight something.
From the physical to the symbolic
This analogy with sport can help us to analyse the definition of the expression to emphasise as an action that consists of placing ourselves at a reference point in order to gravitate around it during the speech. That is, if we intend to highlight an idea or a concept throughout a conversation , for example, to emphasise them consists of staying as close as possible, so that the rest of the words and expressions are complementary to them and do not generate new nuclei.
The athlete who puts his foot down on a point to push off from there and achieve high initial speed, power, height or horizontal distance, for example, bets all his performance on this action. The precision with which he puts his foot down at the start will determine everything that happens until the end of his execution. On the other hand, if the emphasis is poor, a new point of support will be necessary throughout the jump, which will make the first point invalid, and this can be compared to a speech in which the interlocutor fails to successfully express the issues he considers most important.
Hincapié as a surname and company name
Hincapié is also a common surname in Colombia . Plastic surgeon Gustavo Andrés Hincapié , artist María Teresa Hincapié and cyclist George Hincapié (American of Colombian origin) are some personalities who share this surname.
Hincapié , finally, is the name of a Spanish company dedicated to industrial cleaning and of an Argentine company that manufactures shoe soles.