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Salvete!

I wonder if you have ideas about this abbreviation found in a 16th c. nautical text (Quatri partitu en cosmographia prática). The text is in Castilian, but the author likes to sprinkle Latin ligatures. text from Sanches Quatri Partitu

I'm thinking "sive", but still not quite satisfied.

“...tienen fuerza principalmente en verano sive primavera y en otoño”

I've already tried this excellent Mexican dictionary, to no avail.

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    sive doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I can't think of a much better alternative, especially since the seasons aren't even in order. I also found it strange that other online transcriptions of this text seem to exclude primavera. Are there other manuscripts? Two unlikely options that occur to me: scripsit (to indicate an incorrect addition by a prior manuscript?) or secundariamente, in contrast to principalmente. Commented Aug 12 at 15:23
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    thank you! This is terribly interesting, because the transliterations you found are not from the same author Alonso, but his father's, Jerónimo—mind-blowing. And the difference between the two texts has helped me figure out what it is, I think. I'll post it as an answer. Commented Aug 13 at 18:21

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I think the answer has to do less with Latin and more with Spanish etymology!

Both verano and primavera in Spanish come from the same Latin ver, is. Verano was originally a latter part of the ver continuum, a late Spring (cf. Midsummer). In fact, the DRAE still records primavera as an archaic meaning of verano. This explains why an earlier version of the text would omit primavera, which is a sort of gloss.

So the abbreviation may be for scilicet or sive or something to that effect, and the meaning, I reckon, is clear: "verano, i.e. primavera".

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