epoca Italian · revision 39356

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1685, Daniello Bartoli|origins=grc ἐπέχω}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɛ.po.ka/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''epoca''' ''f'' (plural epoche)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a learned word, [[bor|grc|ἐποχή|tr=epokhḗ|t=stop, suspension]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003) The Greek noun is from [[m|grc|ἐπέχω|tr=epékhō|t=to hold back, check]], formed from [[m|grc|ἐπί|tr=epí|t=upon]] and [[m|grc|ἔχω|tr=ékhō|t=to have, hold]].^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI)^(Gabrielli 2020) In astronomy it named the point where a star seems to halt at its apogee, fixed as a starting point for reckoning a cycle, and then the period itself.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) Pianigiani derived it through [[la|epocha]].^(Wikizionario)^(Pianigiani 1907)

+

+ The GDLI notes that the word entered the languages of Europe in the 17th century and spread in the 18th; it compares [[en|epoch]] (1614) and [[fr|époque]] (1637), from which the Italian senses descend.^(GDLI|5, 206) The phrase [[fare epoca]] is a calque of [[fr|faire époque]], recorded in 1762.^(DELI 1999)^(Devoto–Oli 2026) The philosophical [[epochè]], the suspension of judgement, is the same Greek word.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is Daniello Bartoli, before 1685, in astronomy: the moment from which the mean longitude of a heavenly body is reckoned.^(DELI 1999) GRADIT gives the same date, and Zingarelli an earlier one, 1546.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 18th century the word passed from astronomy to history: the fourth Crusca dictionary (1731) has a long historical period marked by its main events, and Eustachio Manfredi defines it as the notable point from which a people count their years.^(DELI 1999)^(GDLI|5, 206) The looser sense “time, period” is recorded from 1800, in the Milanese press and in Alfieri, and the geological epoch, a division of a period, from 1819.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ In modern use ''d'epoca'' means “period, antique” (furniture, cars, costumes), ''all'epoca'' means “at the time”, and something that ''fa epoca'' is memorable.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020) The adjective ''epocale'', “epoch-making”, is recorded from 1965.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1546 – First record according to Zingarelli.^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ * Before 1685 – Daniello Bartoli uses ''epoca'' in astronomy.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1731 – The fourth Crusca dictionary records the historical sense.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1762 – French ''faire époque'', the model of ''fare epoca'', is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1800 – The sense “time, period” appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1819 – The geological sense is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1965 – ''Epocale'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|era]], a historical period marked by particular events or developments: ''Il castello fu costruito in epoca normanna.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Time, period; a particular time in someone's life: ''All'epoca lavoravo ancora a Torino.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A date taken as the start of a new era; in astronomy, the instant from which a quantity varying in time is reckoned.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(geology)'' An [[m|en|epoch]], a division of a geological period.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(commerce)'' The date from which interest or a term is calculated.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[epocale]]

+ * [[d'epoca]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[epochè]]

+ * [[era]]

+ * [[grc|ἐποχή|tr=epokhḗ]]

+ * [[fr|époque]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Set phrases are ''fare epoca'' (to be memorable, epoch-making), ''d'epoca'' (period, vintage: ''auto d'epoca'') and ''dell'epoca'' (of that time).^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}