dreamtime

[ dreem-tahym ]

/ ˈdrimˌtaɪm /

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noun

(often initial capital letter) the ancient time of the creation of all things by sacred ancestors, whose spirits continue into the present, as conceived in Australian Aboriginal mythology.

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Also called alcheringa, the dreaming .

Origin of dreamtime

First recorded in 1905–10; dream + time

Words nearby dreamtime

dream merchant, dreamscape, dreamt, dream team, dream ticket, dreamtime, dream up, dream vision, dreamwork, dream world, dreamy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dreamtime in a sentence

Living in a sort of dreamtime characterizes experience now, as the Moon is void-of-course a few times this week.
Your Horoscopes|Starsky + Cox|May 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The evidence of the Arunta legends as to the customs of the Alcheringa, or 'dreamtime,' is 'such stuff as dreams are made of.'
Social Origins and Primal Law|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for dreamtime

Dreamtime

/ (ˈdriːmtaɪm) /

noun

Also called: alchera (ˈæltʃərə), alcheringa (in the mythology of Australian Aboriginal peoples) a mythical Golden Age of the past

Australian informal any remote period, out of touch with the actualities of the present

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012