ephemeral
noun
- that which only exists briefly
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L336494 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɛˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl/ / /əˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl/
adj
Etymology: From New Latin ephemerus, from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros), the more common form of ἐφημέριος (ephēmérios, “of, for, or during the day, living or lasting but for a day, short-lived, temporary”), from ἐπί (epí, “on”) + ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”).
- Lasting for a short period of time.
“1821-1822, Vicesimus Knox, Remarks on the tendency of certain Clauses in a Bill now pending in Parliament to degrade Grammar Schools Esteem, lasting esteem, the esteem of good men, like himself, will be his reward, when the gale of ephemeral popularity shall have gradually subsided.”
“sentences not of ephemeral, but of eternal, efficacy”
- Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, and diseases.
- Usually dry, but filling with water for brief periods during and after precipitation.
“The graben constitutes a depositional basin and a topographic low, underlain by Cretaceous shales, in which volcanic debris accumulated in ephemeral lakes and streams in Oligocene and early Miocene time.”
noun
Etymology: From New Latin ephemerus, from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros), the more common form of ἐφημέριος (ephēmérios, “of, for, or during the day, living or lasting but for a day, short-lived, temporary”), from ἐπί (epí, “on”) + ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”).
- Something which lasts for a short period of time.