aera Latin · revision 4457

15 Oct 2026, 23:18 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=Rufius Festus|origins=la aes}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈae̯.ra]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛː.ra]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''aera''' ''f'' (genitive aerae); first declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is post-classical, probably a special use of ''aera'' “counters”, the plural of [[aes]] “bronze, money”, made into a feminine singular.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)^(TLL) The TLL calls it a plural of ''aes'' with changed declension and gender.^(TLL)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Rufius Festus, in his Breviarium in the late 4th century, uses it of a number or item in a reckoning.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Georges 1913)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Its first sense was a number used in a calculation, an item of an account.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) From that it came to mean the date from which years are counted, an era: Isidore of Seville says the era of each year was fixed by Caesar Augustus at the first census of the Roman world.^(Isidore)^(Gaffiot 2016) The Spanish era began in 38 BC, and Etymonline dates this use to the 7th century.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ In medieval Latin it was also the number of a chapter or section, especially in laws and canon collections.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW) [[en|era]] is recorded as ''aera'' in the 1610s and as ''era'' in 1716.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * late 4th century AD – Rufius Festus uses it of a number.^(Gaffiot 2016)
+ * c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the era as fixed by Augustus.^(Isidore)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 1610s – English ''aera'' is recorded, later ''era''.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(Late Latin)'' A number, an item of an account.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)
+ # ''(Late Latin)'' An [[m|en|era]], the [[m|en|epoch]] from which years are counted.^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The number of a chapter or section.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[aerinus]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[aes]]
+ * [[en|era]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ A different word is ''aera'' “darnel”, a weed among grain, borrowed from Greek and used by Pliny the Elder.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}