tenebra

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tenebra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [təˈne.βɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [təˈne.bɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [teˈne.bɾa]

Noun

tenebra f (plural tenebres)

1. profound darkness

   L'autèntic drama no habita en el cor de les tenebres, sinó en les tenebres del cor.

   Authentic drama doesn't reside in the heart of darkness but in the darkness of the heart.

2. (in the plural, Christianity) Tenebrae (Holy Week religious service)

Usage notes

• Used especially in the plural

Further reading

• “tenebra” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “tenebra” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Italian

Etymology

From Latin tenebra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.ne.bra/
• Rhymes: -ɛnebra
• Hyphenation: tè‧ne‧bra

Noun

tenebra f (plural tenebre)

1. (usually in the plural) darkness, gloom, night

Anagrams

• nerbate

Latin

Etymology

Arose by dissimilation from earlier *temebrai, arisen from Proto-Italic *temasro, from Proto-Indo-European *temH-s-ro (“dark”), a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *temH- (“dark”); cognate with Sanskrit तमिस्र (tamisra), Avestan 𐬙𐬄𐬚𐬭𐬀 (tąθra), Middle Persian [script needed] (tʾr /⁠tār⁠/, “darkness”), Ossetian тар (tar), and Old Church Slavonic тьмьнъ (tĭmĭnŭ).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈte.ne.bra/, [ˈt̪ɛnɛbrä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈte.ne.bra/, [ˈt̪ɛːnebrä]

Noun

tenebra f (genitive tenebrae); first declension

1. (in the plural) darkness, shadow, gloom, obscurity
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2:

     Terra autem erat inānis et vacua, et tenebrae erant super faciem abyssī: et spīritus Deī ferēbātur super aquās.

     And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.

2. ignorance
3. concealment

Usage notes

Almost always used in the plural rather than the singular.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	tenebra	tenebrae
Genitive	tenebrae	tenebrārum
Dative	tenebrae	tenebrīs
Accusative	tenebram	tenebrās
Ablative	tenebrā	tenebrīs
Vocative	tenebra	tenebrae

Descendants

• Galician: tebras
• Portuguese: treva
• Spanish: tiniebla
• → Catalan: tenebra
• → French: ténèbres
  • → Romanian: tenebră
• → English: tenebrose, tenebrous
• → Italian: tenebra
• → Portuguese: tênebra

References

• tenebra in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• tenebra in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “tenebrae”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 512