periodical
Americannoun
adjective
-
published at regularly recurring intervals.
-
of or relating to such publications.
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to such publications
-
published at regular intervals
-
periodic or occasional
Other Word Forms
- nonperiodical adjective
- periodicalism noun
- periodicalist noun
- periodicalness noun
- unperiodical adjective
Etymology
Origin of periodical
First recorded in 1595–1605; periodic 1 + -al 1
Explanation
If your weekend ritual includes reading the Sunday paper from front to back and then comparing stories in the latest celebrity gossip magazines, you appreciate periodicals, publications that come out on a regular basis. The word periodical is related to period, as in a certain length of time. Periodicals are published with regular lengths of time between issues and are described by that length of time, whether it's daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual. They may be meant for a general audience like the ones you find on the magazine stand in the airport, or they may be more specialized for readers with specific interests, such as The Journal of the Society for Penguin Appreciation or Window Washer Gazette.
Vocabulary lists containing periodical
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An entire notebook is devoted to The Spectator, a daily periodical that ran for 555 issues between 1711 and 1712 commenting on the manners and fads of London society.
From BBC • Sep. 4, 2025
The first periodical in Southern California was bilingual: the Los Angeles Star, which began publishing in 1851.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024
Several editors at the Columbia Law Review described the board’s intervention as an unprecedented breach of editorial independence at the periodical, which is run by students at Columbia Law School.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024
There are close to 200 species of cicada in North America, only seven of which exhibit synchronized 13- and 17-year life cycles — otherwise known as periodical cicadas.
From Salon • May 16, 2024
Give me plastics, periodical tables, t.v. dinners with vegetables no more complex than peas mixed with diced carrots.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
