tenebra

Italian

Etymology

From Latin tenebra.

Noun

tenebra f (plural tenebre)

1. darkness, gloom, night

Usage notes

• Used especially in the plural

Anagrams

• nerbate

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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”) and Ossetian тар (tar).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈte.ne.bra/, [ˈtɛ.nɛ.bra]

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 inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas

     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

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

References

• tenebra in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• tenebra in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) 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, page 512