ora Italian · revision 37468

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 12th century, Ritmo laurenziano|origins=grc ὥρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈo.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ora''' ''f'' (plural ore)^(Wiktionary)

+ The adverb is often shortened to ''or'', in poetry and in fixed phrases such as ''or ora'' and ''or sono''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) Old forms of the noun include ''ore'' and ''uòra'', and a regional form is ''ura''.^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The noun is [[inh|la|hōra|t=hour; time]], from [[grc|ὥρα|tr=hṓra]], whose first meaning was “season, part of the year”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) Nocentini and Wiktionary relate the Greek word to [[goh|jār|t=year]] and [[cu|ꙗра|tr=jara|t=spring]], from [[ine-pro|*yeh₁-|t=year, season]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) DELI recalls that the division of the day into twelve hours was taken from the Babylonians, as Herodotus says.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The noun is panromance: [[fr|heure]], [[oc|ora]], [[es|hora]], [[pt|hora]] and [[sc|ora|alt=òra]], and [[ro|oară]] means “time, occurrence”.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) From Old French it passed into Middle Low German, giving [[de|Uhr]] “clock”, and into English as [[m|en|hour]];^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) Latin ⟨hora⟩ also gave [[cy|awr]] and [[eu|oren]].^(DEI|2665)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The adverb “now” continues the Latin ablative ⟨hōrā⟩ “at the hour”, from phrases such as ⟨hac ipsa hora⟩ “at this very hour”, used by Juvenal, and ⟨ea hora⟩ “at that hour”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) It has relatives in [[fro|ores]], [[oc|ara]], [[ca|ara]], [[es|ahora]] and [[pt|agora]], from a phrase ⟨hac hora⟩.^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935) The adverb did not spread over all of Italy: the north used the type [[adesso]], from Latin ⟨ad ipsum⟩, and the south the type [[mo]], from [[la|modo|t=just now]].^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Ritmo laurenziano'', a Tuscan poem of the late 12th century, has both the noun in the sense “moment” and the adverb in the sense “a moment ago”.^(DELI 1999) The noun “hour”, the 24th part of the day, is in Sicilian poetry before 1250, in a poem attributed to Pier della Vigna, Stefano Protonotaro or Giacomo da Lentini: ''Mille grazie n'agia ciascun ore'' “May she have a thousand thanks every hour”.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI) The adverb “now” appears as ''or'' in Giacomo da Lentini and as ''ora'' before 1292 in Bono Giamboni;^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Nocentini dates it to 1221.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante explains in the ''Convivio'' that medieval hours were of two kinds: the ''ore temporali'', used by the Church for Prime, Terce, Sext and None, divided daylight and night into twelve each and so changed length with the seasons, while the ''ore equali'' were of fixed length.^(DELI 1999) From the 13th century ''ora'' also named the prayers said at fixed hours, the canonical hours.^(DELI 1999) Boccaccio extends the noun to any part of the day (1348–1353).^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The adverb developed the senses “in our time” and “soon” in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the alternating ''or… or…'' “now… now…” in Dante.^(DELI 1999) Rohlfs found that in Tuscany ''ora'' is the everyday word and ''adesso'' the more formal one.^(DELI 1999) Compounds with the adverb include ''oramai'' or ''ormai'' “by now” (13th century), ''orbene'' and ''orsù'' (14th century).^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ The adjective ''orario'', learned from Latin, appears in Galileo; the noun ''orario'' “timetable” in 1797 and spread with the railways, though the dictionaries were slow to accept it.^(DELI 1999) The phrase ''non vedere l'ora'' “can't wait” has parallels in Old French and Spanish.^(DELI 1999) German borrowed ''Ora'' as a unit in 1879.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 12th century – The ''Ritmo laurenziano'' has the noun “moment” and the adverb “a moment ago”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1221 – The adverb ''ora''.^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1250 – The noun “hour” and the adverb ''or'' “now” in Sicilian poetry.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * 13th century – ''Ora'' for the prayers of the canonical hours.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1300–1313 – ''Or… or…'' “now… now…” in Dante.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1630–1631 – The adjective ''orario'' in Galileo.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1797 – ''Orario'' “timetable” in Cesarotti.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1879 – German ''Ora''.^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|hour|alt=Hour]], a unit of time of sixty minutes, the 24th part of the day: ''Il viaggio dura due ore.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The time of day: ''Che ore sono?'', ''Che ora è?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A particular moment or time for something: ''l'ora di cena'', ''è arrivata l'ora di partire''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An indefinite period of time, often plural: ''Abbiamo passato ore bellissime al lago.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(religion)'' A [[m|en|canonical hour]], also ''ora canonica''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(history)'' In Roman times and the Middle Ages, each of the twelve parts of daylight, whose length changed with the seasons.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|now|alt=Now]], at this moment: ''Ora non posso, richiamami più tardi.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # Nowadays, at the present time.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A moment ago, just now, also ''or ora''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # In a moment, soon: ''Aspetta, ora arrivo.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # (''ora… ora…'') Now… now…, at one moment… at another.^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # Now, well: used to resume a story or pass to a new point.^(Treccani 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+ # And yet, but.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[orario]]

+ * [[oretta]]

+ * [[ormai]]

+ * [[oramai]]

+ * [[orbene]]

+ * [[orsù]]

+ * [[controra]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[allora]]

+ * [[orologio]]

+ * [[la|hōra]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ora'' with an open vowel, /ˈɔ.ra/, is a poetic and northern word for a breeze, from [[la|aura]].^(Wiktionary)^(DEI|2665) Dante uses it, and in the dialects of Trentino, Brescia and the Lake Garda area it names the breeze that blows up the valleys or over the lakes.^(DEI|2665)^(LEI|3, 2349) The ''Ora'' of Lake Garda was known in German by 1434.^(DIFIT) Common phrases with the noun include ''non vedere l'ora'' “look forward eagerly”, ''fare le ore piccole'' “stay up late” and ''di buon'ora'' “early”; with the adverb, ''per ora'' “for now” and ''d'ora in poi'' “from now on”.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}