epoch

American  

[ep-uhk, ee-pok] / ˈɛp ək, ˈi pɒk /

noun

1. a particular period of time marked by distinctive features, events, etc..

   The treaty ushered in an epoch of peace and good will.

   Synonyms:

   time, era, date, age

2. the beginning of a distinctive period in the history of anything.

   The splitting of the atom marked an epoch in scientific discovery.

3. a point of time distinguished by a particular event or state of affairs; a memorable date.

   His coming of age was an epoch in his life.

4. Geology. any of several divisions of a geologic period during which a geologic series is formed.

5. Astronomy.

   1. an arbitrarily fixed instant of time or date, usually the beginning of a century or half century, used as a reference in giving the elements of a planetary orbit or the like.

   2. the mean longitude of a planet as seen from the sun at such an instant or date.

6. Physics. the displacement from zero at zero time of a body undergoing simple harmonic motion.

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epoch British  

/ ˈiːpɒk, ˈɛpˌɒkəl /

noun

1. a point in time beginning a new or distinctive period

   the invention of nuclear weapons marked an epoch in the history of warfare

2. a long period of time marked by some predominant or typical characteristic; era

3. astronomy a precise date to which information, such as coordinates, relating to a celestial body is referred

4. geology a unit of geological time within a period during which a series of rocks is formed

   the Pleistocene epoch

5. physics the displacement of an oscillating or vibrating body at zero time

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epoch Scientific  

/ ĕp′ək,ē′pŏk′ /

1. The shortest division of geologic time. An epoch is a subdivision of a period.

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Related Words

See age.

Other Word Forms

• epochal adjective
• epochally adverb
• subepoch noun
• superepoch noun

Etymology

Origin of epoch

First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin epocha, from Greek epochḗ “pause, check, fixed time,” from ep- ep- + och- (variant stem of échein “to have, hold, keep”) + -ē, noun suffix

Example Sentences

Kikai last erupted 7,300 years ago in the most powerful eruption of the current geological epoch, the Holocene.

From Science Daily

Our critic raved that “it’s an unparalleled opportunity to do a deep dive into one of the most dazzling epochs in the history of art.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Charismatic and charming as ever, Gosling easily shoulders the job of being the only human onscreen for an epoch.

From Los Angeles Times

Glass’ subject matter varies widely in epochs and ethoses, from ancient Egypt to Walt Disney’s Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

"In principle, I think that this is not an epoch in which you expect to find many of these objects. It helps to constrain the timescales of bar formation. And it's just really interesting."

From Science Daily