Etymologically
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e

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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