e

Forms

e^[1] Before a vowel, especially e-, it has the form ed.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin et (“and; also”).^[5][4][6][1] The same conjunction is French et, Occitan e, Catalan i, Spanish y, Portuguese e and Sardinian e.^[4] The variant ed keeps the Latin final consonant before a word beginning with a vowel.^[4][5]

The Latin word comes from Proto-Italic *eti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éti (“still, also”).^[7][1] Its relatives are Ancient Greek ἔτι (éti, “still, further”), Sanskrit अति (áti, “beyond, over”), Gothic 𐌹𐌸 (iþ, “but”) and Gaulish etic (“and”).^[7][4][1] According to de Vaan, it was first used to add something to what had just been said, or to mark a sequence of actions, and only later replaced the enclitic -que (“and”) as the ordinary word for “and”.^[7] Devoto likewise gives the original value as “moreover, still”.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first Italian record is in a Pisan charter of the early 12th century.^[5] Sabatini–Coletti dates the Latin-spelt form et in Italian texts to the 10th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

By the 13th century the conjunction also had an adversative sense, “but, instead” (Brunetto Latini, before 1294), and could open a reply in the sense “well then” (Giacomino Pugliese, before 1250).^[5] Repeated before every item it gives the slow, piling effect of Dante's “esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte” (this wild wood, rough and harsh, Inferno 1),^[6][3] and repeated before the first item too it means “both … and”, as in Boccaccio's “e qui e fuor di qui e in casa mi sembra star male” (both here and away from here and at home I feel unwell).^[3]

Old texts, and bureaucratic writing up to the 19th century, kept the Latin spelling et.^[5][9] Older and Tuscan usage also contracted it with a following article, as in e' for e i and e 'l for e il.^[10]

Timeline

• 10th century – Sabatini–Coletti's date for the form et.^[3]
• Early 12th century – E appears in a Pisan charter.^[5]
• Before 1250 – Giacomino Pugliese uses it for “well then”.^[5]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses it for “but, instead”.^[5][6]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. and: joins words or clauses with the same function: compro il latte e le uova; with more than two items it usually comes before the last.^[6][2][3]
2. Correlating two terms after tra or fra: tra Roma e Napoli.^[6][3]
3. but, yet, with adversative force: ha promesso di venire e non è venuto.^[6][11]
4. Opening an emphatic or exhortative sentence: e smettila!.^[6][11]
5. After tutti or tutte and before a numeral: tutte e tre.^[6][11]
6. (colloquial) plus, in sums, and in quantities and prices: tre e due, cinque, un metro e venti.^[6][11]
7. (literary) e … e, both … and.^[1][3]

Word family

• eppure
• ebbene

Related words

• ed
• Latin et

Usage notes

The conjunction causes the doubling of a following consonant (raddoppiamento sintattico): e poi is pronounced /epˈpɔi/.^[2][12] The form ed is now mostly limited to words beginning with e (ed ecco, Adamo ed Eva).^[3][10]

E is also the name of the fifth letter of the alphabet, from Latin ē, feminine or masculine, recorded from before 1292 (Bono Giamboni);^[1][5][6] e without an accent is a common misspelling of è, “is”.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c d Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
12. ^ Canepari, Luciano, DiPI: Dizionario di pronuncia italiana, online ed., dipionline.it