ormai Italian · revision 38072

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini|origins=la hōra, la magis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /orˈma.i/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ormai''' (invariable); also [[oramai]], and literary [[omai]]^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|it|ora|mai]], “now” and “ever”, as the Crusca dictionary already explained.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Wiktionary) [[ora|alt=Ora]] is the ablative of [[la|hōra|t=hour]], from phrases such as [[m|la|hāc hōrā|t=at this hour]],^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) and [[mai]] is [[la|magis|t=more]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ “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.^(Nocentini 2010)^(DELI 1999) The poetic [[omai]] comes instead from [[oggimai]], with [[oggi]] “today”.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Compare [[fr|désormais]] and [[pms|oramai]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ GRADIT dates the word to before 1294;^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) Brunetto Latini writes ''oramai'' in his ''Rettorica'' (“now it seems fitting to tell how…”).^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI) The variant ''oimai'' is in Giacomo da Lentini, before 1250.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==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.^(DELI 1999) 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.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ 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.^(GDLI)^(DELI 1999)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) Today ''ormai'' is the usual form and ''oramai'' a variant.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1250 – Giacomo da Lentini uses ''oimai''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''oramai''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(GDLI)

+ * 1300–1313 – Dante uses the conclusive sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1532 – Ariosto uses it with a tone of resignation.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1726 – Salvini compares ''ormai'' and ''omai''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1869 – Tommaseo calls ''omai'' out of use.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # By now, at this point; by then: ''Quando siamo arrivati, il treno era ormai partito.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressing that a situation can no longer be changed, often with [[m|en|resignation]]: ''Ormai è troppo tardi per tornare indietro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # With a stretch of time, emphasizing how long it has lasted: ''Abitiamo qui ormai da dieci anni.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # At last; [[m|en|almost]], nearly (of something about to happen): ''Ormai siamo arrivati.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ora]]

+ * [[mai]]

+ * [[oggimai]]

+ * [[fr|désormais]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Used alone, ''Ormai!'' is a resigned reply, “too late now”.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}