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millennium

[mi-len-ee-uh m]
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noun, plural mil·len·ni·ums, mil·len·ni·a [mi-len-ee-uh] /mɪˈlɛn i ə/.

a period of 1000 years.
the millennium, the period of a thousand years during which Christ will reign on earth. Rev. 20:1–7.
a period of general righteousness and happiness, especially in the indefinite future.
a thousandth anniversary.

Origin of millennium

1630–40; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin mill(e) a thousand + -ennium, extracted from biennium, triennium, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for millennia

prosperity, utopia, serenity, happiness, paradise

Examples from the Web for millennia

Contemporary Examples of millennia

Historical Examples of millennia

  • For millennia, a community considered its priests vital to its survival.

  • Perhaps there was none in most of man's actions over the millennia.

    West Of The Sun

    Edgar Pangborn

  • The clam may survive man by as many millennia as it preceded him.

    Creative Chemistry

    Edwin E. Slosson

  • The bucolic mind does not readily abandon the practices of millennia.

    Celtic Religion

    Edward Anwyl

  • All these peoples have changed greatly during past millennia both for better and worse, usually probably in the latter direction.

British Dictionary definitions for millennia

millennium

noun plural -nia (-nɪə) or -niums

the millennium Christianity the period of a thousand years of Christ's awaited reign upon earth
a period or cycle of one thousand years
a time of peace and happiness, esp in the distant future
a thousandth anniversary
Derived Formsmillennial, adjectivemillennialist, nounmillennially, adverb

Word Origin for millennium

C17: from New Latin, from Latin mille thousand + annus year; for form, compare quadrennium
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
Word Origin and History for millennia
n.

plural of millennium.

millennium

n.

1630s, from Modern Latin millennium, from Latin mille "thousand" (see million) + annus "year" (see annual); formed on analogy of biennium, triennium, etc. For vowel change, see biennial. First in English in sense of "1,000-year period of Christ's anticipated rule on Earth" (Rev. xx:1-5). Sense of "any 1,000-year period" first recorded 1711. Meaning "the year 2000" attested from 1970.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
millennia in Culture

millennium

A period of a thousand years foretold in the Book of Revelation. During the millennium, those who have been faithful to Jesus and who have not worshiped the Antichrist will reign with Jesus over the Earth. According to the Book of Revelation, the millennium will precede the final battle for control of the universe; Judgment Day will come afterward.

Note

The meaning of the Bible's (see also Bible) words about the millennium has been much debated by Christians (see also Christian). Prophecies about the millennium are part of the basic doctrine of several denominations, including Jehovah's Witnesses.

Note

Figuratively, a “millennium” is a period of great justice and happiness on Earth.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.