era

Forms

era f (plural ere)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Late Latin aera (“number, figure; era”), which also meant the date from which years are counted.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The Latin noun was in origin the plural of Latin aes (“bronze; money”), in the sense of money or a quantity, taken as a feminine singular.^[2][4][3][1] According to Isidore, the Late Latin word named in particular the tax Augustus set with the first census of the Empire, an event taken as the start of a new age;^[3][7] DEI adds that the use was usual in Latin Spain from the 4th century.^[3][7]

The same Latin word was borrowed as Spanish era (first half of the 13th century), Middle French here (1539) and French ère.^[6][3][7] The Latin noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ei-os (“bronze”), according to de Vaan.^[8] The same Latin word is behind erario and eneo.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first certain record is in Vasari, before 1574, in the sense of a period counted from an event of great importance.^[2][6] Tommaseo cites an older passage from the Considerazioni delle stimmate of Saint Francis, but DELI shows it is a misreading of ora;^[2][7] DEI's 13th-century date may rest on it.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Tommaseo explained the word as the starting point from which peoples count their years, and the series of years counted from it.^[9] The sense of a historical period marked by memorable events is dated by the LEI to Manfredi in 1739 and by DELI to Gioberti in 1843.^[6][2] The geological sense, a major division of the Earth's history, is recorded in Secchi in 1879.^[2][6]

Many phrases name systems of dating or epochs: era cristiana or era volgare (the Christian era), era musulmana, era fascista, era atomica, era spaziale.^[4][10] In 17th-century Sicilian the phrase antera meant “ahead of time”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 600 – Isidore uses Latin aera for the date from which years are counted.^[6]
• First half of the 13th century – Old Spanish era is recorded.^[6]
• 1539 – Middle French here is recorded.^[6]
• Before 1574 – Vasari uses Italian era.^[2]
• 1739 – Manfredi uses it for a historical period.^[6]
• 1879 – Secchi uses it for a division of geological time.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A system of counting years from an important event, and the time so counted: l'era cristiana.^[4][10][5]
2. A broad division of history; by extension, an epoch, a period marked by particular events: l'era dei grandi viaggi.^{[4][11][12][1]}
3. (geology) An era, one of the main units of geological time, divided into periods.^{[4][11][12][5]}

Related words

• erario
• eneo
• epoca
• Latin aes
• French ère

Usage notes

Era is also a form of essere, the imperfect indicative, which Zingarelli lists as a separate headword.^[5] In archaic, poetic and dialect use it also served for the first person, standard ero.^[1] An old northern era “floor, ground”, from Latin area (compare aia), is found in Neri in 1612.^[7][13][9] In Salento èra means “July”, the month of threshing on the threshing floor.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 1, 1088
7. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1507
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
10. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5, 224
14. ^ Cortelazzo, Manlio; Marcato, Carla (1998), I dialetti italiani: dizionario etimologico, Torino: UTET