Showing results for "ephemera"

• plural of ephemeron.

ephemera

American  

[ih-fem-er-uh] / ɪˈfɛm ər ə /

noun

ephemeras, plural ephemerae plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ephemerae
  plural
• ephemeras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ephemera

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

Explanation

Ephemera don't stick around for very long. You might enjoy such ephemera as sunsets and rainbows, things appearing only briefly, and so enjoyed all the more. In Latin, ephemera was a word for a fever that didn't last long. Today, ephemera is the plural form of ephemeron, which means "something impermanent or lasting only a short time." French historian Fernand Braudel referred to events as “the ephemera of history,” likening them to fireflies that light the dark for just a moment.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ephemera ephemerae ephemeras

Since 2016, they’ve been digitizing Saar’s expansive archive, including correspondence, sketches, playbills, documents and ephemera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

At mid-century, the word “design” implied fashionable ephemera, whereas Noguchi’s own work—furniture as well as sculptures—pursued something more enduring: the aesthetic orchestration of forms, pressures, space and human communication.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

It’s clear that “Forbidden Fruits” director and co-writer Meredith Alloway has marinated in plenty of ’90s teen movies and the kitschy pop-culture ephemera of that era.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

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 ● Jan. 28, 2026

David was of the ephemera, the pleasure-loving insects.

From Pirate Gold by Stimson, Frederic Jesup

Scanning the globe and the human ephemerae upon it from the point of view of a millionaire in years, Wells still considers that "Nazi Germany may well bring down conclusive disaster on our species."

From Time Magazine Archive

A curious thing about that night was a swarm of ephemerae so dense that it was like a blinding snowstorm.

From Philip Gilbert Hamerton An Autobiography, 1834-1858, and a Memoir by His Wife, 1858-1894 by Hamerton, Philip Gilbert

He should neither praise nor blame nor defend his equals; he should not strike one blow at the buzzing ephemerae of letters.

From Letters to Dead Authors by Lang, Andrew

Then there are the blue and the brown, both ephemerae, which come on, the first in dark days, the second in bright days; these flies, when well imitated, are very destructive to fish.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 324, July 26, 1828 by Various

Above, against the slaty-gray cloud-wrack, four exquisite slender girl-forms appeared, with loose hair, silver-gray drapery and gauzy wings as of ephemerae, flying in pursuit of the cloud.

From A Crystal Age by Hudson, W. H. (William Henry)

To talk of "relaxations," whether in cultural or political control, or of economic or social reform, is to talk of ephemeras.

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• collectibles