This is the 46th most frequent Romanian word.
era
"Era" in Romanian means "was" (third-person singular, imperfect tense of "a fi" - "to be").
In this sentence, 'era' functions as the third-person singular past tense of the verb 'a fi' (to be), indicating a state or condition in the past.
Era o zi frumoasă afară.
It was a beautiful day outside.
Here, 'era' again is the third-person singular past tense of 'a fi', describing Maria's emotional state in the past.
Maria era încântată de rezultat.
Maria was thrilled with the result.
In this example, 'era' narrates the past state or condition of 'everything' being prepared, continuing its function as the verb 'to be' in past tense.