ephemeral

WOTD - 24 August 2007    

Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From New Latin ephemerus, from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερος (ephēmeros), the more common form of ἐφημέριος (ephemerios, “of, for, or during the day, living or lasting but for a day, short-lived, temporary”), from ἐπί (epi, “on”) + ἡμέρα (hēmera, “day”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl/, /əˈfɛ.mə.ɹəl/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

ephemeral (plural ephemerals)

1. Something which lasts for a short period of time.

Adjective

ephemeral (comparative more ephemeral, superlative most ephemeral)

1. Lasting for a short period of time.
   • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 9, Frankenstein^[1]:

     It was during an access of this kind that I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near Alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows.

2. (biology) Existing for only one day, as with some flowers, insects, and diseases.

Synonyms

• (lasting for a short period of time): temporary, transitory, fleeting, evanescent, momentary, short-lived, short, volatile
• See also Wikisaurus:ephemeral

Antonyms

• (lasting for a long period of time): permanent, eternal, everlasting, timeless.

Derived terms

• ephemerally

Related terms

• ephemera
• ephemeron
• ephemerality

Translations

lasting for a short period of time

Bulgarian: краткотраен (bg), мимолетен (bg) Catalan: efímer (ca) Croatian: ȅfemēran (hr), krȁtkotrājan (hr), prìvremen (hr) Finnish: lyhytaikainen (fi), hetkellinen (fi), ohimenevä (fi) French: éphémère (fr) German: flüchtig (de), kurzlebig (de), vergänglich (de) Greek: εφήμερος (el) (efímeros), παροδικός (el) (paroðikós), πρόσκαιρος (el) (próskeros), βραχύβιος (el) (vrakhívios) Hungarian: kérészéletű (hu), efemer (hu) Icelandic: skammvinnur (is) m., skammær (is) m., skammlífur (is) m., hverfull (is) m.

Indonesian: bersifat sementara Italian: effimero (it), passeggero (it), fuggevole (it), transitorio (it) Japanese: はかない, 束の間の Korean: 재지 않는 Polish: efemeryczny (pl) Russian: эфемерный (ru) (ef'em'érnyj) Slovene: kratkotrajen (sl) m., začasen (sl) m. Spanish: efímero (es) Swedish: flyktig (sv), efemär (sv), förgänglig (sv)

existing for only one day

Bulgarian: еднодневен (bg) Croatian: ȅfemēran (hr) Finnish: päivä- (fi), päivän- (fi), päivän kestävä (fi) Greek: εφήμερος (el) (efímeros), ημερόβιος (el) (imeróvios)

Icelandic: dægurlangur (is) m. Polish: efemeryczny

External links

• ephemeral in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• ephemeral in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911