Etymology From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).
1
On the current day or date.
I want this done today.
Today, my brother went to the shops.
2
In the current era; nowadays; these days.
In the 1500s, people had to do things by hand, but today we have electric can openers.
Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
3
Informal On the day of a recurring cycle or event which is currently happening.
We used to prepare everything today, but now we split it over two days.
Etymology From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).
1
The current day or date.
Today is the day we'll fix this once and for all.
We could've spent today at the seaside if it weren't gusty.
1 more example
Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish, I wish he’d go away …1899, Hughes Mearns, Antigonish:
2
Climatology, Meteorology, Natural sciencesInformal The 24-hour period beginning at 5 or 6 a.m. or sunrise of the current day.
3
The present era; nowadays.
This is the sporty jacket for today's modern man on the go.
The youth of today have never known what life is like without a cell phone.
Etymology From Middle English today, to-daie, todæig, from Old English tōdæġ, tō dæġe (“today”, literally “on [the/this] day, [this] day forward”), equivalent to to + day. Compare Saterland Frisian däälich (“today”), Dutch vandaag (“today”), Old Saxon hindag (“today”, literally “[this] day forward”), German Low German vandage, vandaag (“today”), Swedish i dag, idag (“today”).
Actually, it's more like the blues. It's pop blues. I feel it's very American. It's very today. It's what people respond to today.1965, Tom Wolfe, quoting Phil Spector, “The First Tycoon of Teen”, in The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 67:
[…] she (Françoise Hardy) is so today, so white boots and yé-yé, that she can make anyone over 25 (me) feel prehistoric, raccoon coat and rah-rah.1966 December 18, Joan Barthel, “Francoise from France: White Boots and Ye-Ye”, in The New York Times, →ISSN: