ormai

Forms

ormai (invariable); also oramai, and literary omai^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is a compound from Italian ora + mai, “now” and “ever”, as the Crusca dictionary already explained.^[3][4][5][1] Ora is the ablative of Latin hōra (“hour”), from phrases such as hāc hōrā (“at this hour”),^[5][3] and mai is Latin magis (“more”).^[3][5]

“Mai” was at first an intensifier of other adverbs (“sempre mai”, “ora mai”, “già mai”), and Rohlfs notes that it originally marked the continuation of an action, as in “ormai” “from now on”; its frequent use after “non” later made it negative.^[5][3] The poetic omai comes instead from oggimai, with oggi “today”.^[3][5] Compare French désormais and Piedmontese oramai.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to before 1294;^[4][6] Brunetto Latini writes oramai in his Rettorica (“now it seems fitting to tell how…”).^[4][6] The variant oimai is in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The conclusive sense “things being so, at this point” is in Dante (1300–1313), and the tone of resignation (“by now there is nothing to be done”) in Ariosto in 1532.^[3] In the Orlando furioso (canto 10) a woman runs to the sea “presaga e certa ormai di sua fortuna”, foreseeing and by now sure of her fate.^[7]

The three forms were long weighed by the grammarians: Pietro Bembo kept oggimai and oramai for prose and allowed omai in verse too; in 1726 Anton Maria Salvini found ormai less used by the ancients than omai but sweeter; and in 1869 Tommaseo wrote that omai was no longer in use, that oramai was common in familiar speech, and that ormai was quicker.^[6][3][7] Today ormai is the usual form and oramai a variant.^[2][8]

Timeline

• Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses oimai.^[3]
• Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses oramai.^[4][6]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses the conclusive sense.^[3]
• 1532 – Ariosto uses it with a tone of resignation.^[3]
• 1726 – Salvini compares ormai and omai.^[3]
• 1869 – Tommaseo calls omai out of use.^[3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. By now, at this point; by then: Quando siamo arrivati, il treno era ormai partito.^[4][2][8][1]
2. Expressing that a situation can no longer be changed, often with resignation: Ormai è troppo tardi per tornare indietro.^[4][2][9]
3. With a stretch of time, emphasizing how long it has lasted: Abitiamo qui ormai da dieci anni.^[4][2]
4. At last; almost, nearly (of something about to happen): Ormai siamo arrivati.^[4][2][9][1]

Related words

• ora
• mai
• oggimai
• French désormais

Usage notes

Used alone, Ormai! is a resigned reply, “too late now”.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 j k l m n Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
8. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli