estate

Forms

estate f (plural estati)^[1] Older and popular forms are state and istate;^[2][3][4] està is poetic and southern.^[2][3][4] The TLIO records Old Italian forms such as estade, istade, istà and stae.^[5]

Etymology

It continues inherited from Latin aestās (“summer”), from the accusative aestātem.^[2][6][7] The older Italian forms ⟨state⟩ and ⟨istate⟩ came down by unbroken popular tradition, while ⟨estate⟩ is a learned form remodelled on the Latin word.^[2][1] The same Latin word gave French été and Occitan estat, and it is widespread in the Italian dialects.^[6][8]

The Latin noun is related to aestus (“burning heat”).^[2][7][9] Devoto explains it as a shortened *aestitās, as honestās stands beside honestus, and links it with aedēs (“hearth; temple”) and Ancient Greek αἴθω (aíthō, “to burn”).^[10][1] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₂eidʰ-teh₂t- (“burning, heat”) from the root Proto-Indo-European *h₂eydʰ- (“to burn”); he thinks the expected outcome was Proto-Italic *aissāt-, with the suffix ⟨-tās⟩ restored later.^[11][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are state in Cielo d'Alcamo, before 1250, and the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur; the word named the season between spring and autumn, or generally the hot part of the year.^[2][5][6] Guittone d'Arezzo wrote istate before 1294, and the form estate appears in Dante's Convivio (1304–1308).^[2]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian phrases include mezza estate, the time around Saint John's day (24 June), and d'estate e d'inverno, “in every season”, hence “always”.^[5] Dante has the dogs that scratch di state when bitten by fleas and flies.^[12][7]

The estate di San Martino, mild days around 11 November, is recorded in Anton Francesco Doni in the 16th century; figuratively it is a late return of vigour in old age.^[3][4][13] Estate also came to mean the summer holidays, and figuratively a period of flowering, as in “the summer of Romanticism”.^[7] In recent use it names a city's programme of summer events, such as the Estate romana.^[9]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Cielo d'Alcamo uses the form state.^[2]
• Before 1294 – Guittone d'Arezzo writes istate.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses estate in the Convivio.^[2]
• 16th century – Doni records the estate di San Martino.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. summer, the warmest season, between spring and autumn: Quest'estate ha fatto un caldo insopportabile.^[7][9][14]
2. The summer holidays: Dove andate in estate?^[7]
3. (figurative) A period of greatest flowering of an art or movement.^[7][15]
4. A season of shows and cultural events held in a city in summer.^[9]

Related words

• estivo
• estivare
• estuario
• Latin aestas
• French été

Usage notes

Estate di San Martino is a spell of fine weather around 11 November, and estate indiana is the North American Indian summer.^[9][16][13] The adjective for “summer” is estivo, from Latin aestīvus.^[6]

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 j 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 Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
4. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
5. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
6. ^ a b c d Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975)
9. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
12. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 5
13. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
14. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
16. ^ Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli