ephemera

American  

[ih-fem-er-uh] / ɪˈfɛm ər ə /

noun

plural

ephemeras, ephemerae

1. a plural of ephemeron.

2. an ephemerid.

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ephemera British  

/ ɪˈfɛmərə /

noun

1. a mayfly, esp one of the genus Ephemera

2. something transitory or short-lived

3. (functioning as plural) a class of collectable items not originally intended to last for more than a short time, such as tickets, posters, postcards, or labels

4. a plural of ephemeron

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Etymology

Origin of ephemera

1670–80; < Greek ephḗmera, neuter plural of ephḗmeros, taken as singular; ephemeral

Example Sentences

Contemporaries were convinced that his motivation for publishing Mansfield’s ephemera wasn’t so much reverence for her talent as greed for hard cash.

From The Wall Street Journal

How well can you recall the past 250 years of books, music, movies and other cultural ephemera that makes up our country?

From The Wall Street Journal

This is where the oils live, and the spices, and the half-forgotten jars of jam, olives, vinegars and other bits of kitchen ephemera that have been quietly waiting for their moment.

From Salon

Stomach gnawing and hands slightly shaky, I loaded up on ephemera for fancy paninis, held together with swipes of giardiniera mayo, and splurged on some pastel-hued botanical sodas for drinking straight from the can.

From Salon

Containing more than 250 images, each accompanied by a deft, deep caption, this selection of artworks, ephemera, photographs, fashion, jewels and objects is engaging, surprising and sometimes scary.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• collectibles