trenta

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin trīgintā (“thirty”), through the Late Latin form triēnta.^[2][3][4][1] Devoto explains the loss of /g/ between two /i/ as regular, as in dito, and the vowel /e/ from the short second /i/ prevailing over the long first one.^[5]

The same word is French trente, Occitan trenta, Catalan trenta, Spanish treinta, Portuguese trinta and Sardinian trinta.^[2][6][1]

The Latin numeral is formed from the stem of trēs (“three”) and the plural of the word for “ten”, as in quīnquāgintā.^[2][7] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *tridḱómt (“thirty”), or to a variant *tridḱm̥th₂, and is cognate with Ancient Greek τριάκοντα (triákonta).^[1] Devoto notes that the voiced /g/ of Latin, where /k/ is expected, is irregular.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Trenta is in the Placito di Capua of 960: Sao ko kelle terre, per kelle fini que ki contene, trenta anni le possette parte sancti Benedicti (“I know that those lands, within the boundaries described here, were held for thirty years by the party of Saint Benedict”).^[8][9][10]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian already used the number for an indefinite large amount, as it still does in te l’ho detto trenta volte.^[9][11] Old forms include tranta and tretta.^[10][9] Dante writes of trenta gran palmi (“thirty great spans”).^[10]

Tuscan proverbs recorded by Tommaseo include chi ha fatto trenta, può far trentuno, advice to finish a task already mostly done.^[12][13] In the universities thirty is the highest mark in an examination, and trenta e lode the highest with honours.^[4][14] Gli anni Trenta are the 1930s.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 960 – Trenta in the Placito di Capua.^[8][9]
• 1304–1308 – The ordinal trentesimo is recorded.^[2]
• 15th century – Trentina “about thirty” is recorded.^[2]
• 1855 – Trentenne, trentennio and trentennale are recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Numeral

1. thirty, three tens (30, XXX): Il pullman porta trenta passeggeri.^[3][11][4]
2. (after a noun) thirtieth: Apri il libro al capitolo trenta.^[3][11]
3. (hyperbolic) Many, a great number of times.^[11][9]

Noun

1. The number thirty and the sign for it.^[3][15]
2. The thirtieth day of a month; the year thirty of a century;^[3][15] gli anni Trenta, the thirties.^[3][15]
3. (education) The top mark in an Italian university examination;^[3][14][4] trenta e lode, the top mark with honours.^[3][14][4]

Word family

• trentenne
• trentennio
• trentennale
• trentesimo
• trentina
• trentuno

Related words

• tre
• Latin triginta
• French trente

Usage notes

Before anni the number is elided: trent’anni.^[13] It forms the numbers trentuno, trentadue, trentatré and so on.^[15][13] Set phrases include la guerra dei Trent’anni and i trenta tiranni of Athens.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
5. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
10. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
11. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana