| aeon eon |
the largest division of geological time, composed of several ERAS. |
| aeonian eonian |
lasting for aeons, eternal. |
| aeonic |
lasting an AEON. N.B. no EONIC*. |
| age |
a long but indefinite period of time; any great division of world, human, or individual history; (verb) to grow older. |
| agelong |
lasting for an age or very long time. |
| ahemeral+ |
not lasting a full twenty-four hours. |
| allnight |
of light, fuel, food etc.: provided for the whole night. |
| awee |
awhile. |
| awhile |
for a while. |
| bimester |
a period of two months. |
| bimillenary |
a span of 2,000 years; a 2,000th anniversary. |
| bimillennium |
a period of two thousand years. Pl. BIMILLENNIUMS or BIMILLENNIA. |
| calpa kalpa |
one of the Brahmanic eons, a period of 4,320,000,000 years. At the end of each calpa the world is annihilated, which is bad luck if you happen to be around at the time. |
| century |
one hundred years. |
| chiliad |
a group of 1000; a period of 1000 years, a MILLENNIUM. [Gk. kilioi, thousand]. |
| chiliadal+ chiliadic+ |
relating to a CHILIAD. |
| chronon |
a very small unit of time, defined as a) the time required for a photon to travel the diameter of an electron or b) the time between pressing one’s clock in Scrabble and seeing that there was a better move you could have played. |
| coeternal |
equally eternal, jointly eternal. |
| coeternally |
(adv.) COETERNAL, equally eternal. |
| day |
a period of twenty four hours, or period of daylight. |
| daylong |
lasting all day. |
| decade |
a period of ten years. |
| decennium |
a period of ten years. Pl. DECENNIA or DECENNIUMS. |
| diel |
involving a full day. |
| diuturnal |
of long continuance; lasting. |
| downtime |
the period of time when e.g. a machine is out of action. |
| eon |
see AEON. |
| eonian |
see AEONIAN. |
| epact |
the moon's age at the beginning of the year; the excess of the calendar month or solar year over the lunar. |
| ephemeral |
existing only for a day, or short period; (noun) a creature, such as a mayfly, that lives for one day only. |
| epoch epocha |
a division of geologic time shorter than a PERIOD. |
| epochal |
belonging to an EPOCH; of the nature of an EPOCH. |
| epochally |
(adv.) EPOCHAL, belonging to an epoch. |
| era |
an age; a main division of geological time. |
| eternal |
something lasting forever. |
| eternalise eternalize |
to make eternal. |
| eternality+ |
the state of being eternal. |
| eternally |
(adv.) ETERNAL, lasting forever. |
| eterne |
eternal. |
| eternity |
duration without beginning or end. |
| evanescent |
fleeting, transitory. |
| evanescence |
the state of being EVANESCENT. |
| everlasting |
lasting forever; (noun) a flower (of Helichrysum, Antennaria or other genus) that may be kept for years without much change of appearance. |
| everlastingness |
the state of being EVERLASTING. |
| evermore |
for all time to come. |
| eviternal |
eternal. |
| eviternally |
(adv.) EVITERNAL, eternal. |
| eyeblink+ |
a very short instant of time. |
| femtosecond |
one quadrillionth part of a second. |
| forever |
(noun) eternity. |
| forevermore |
forever. |
| fortnight |
a period of two weeks. |
| fugacious |
lasting a short time, evanescent. |
| fugacity fugaciousness |
the state of being FUGACIOUS. |
| gliffing |
the time required to give a glance, an instant. N.B. there is a noun GLIFF, but no GLIFFED*. |
| hebdomad |
a set of seven, a period of seven days. |
| henceforward |
from this time on. |
| hereafter |
from this time on. |
| hexaemeron |
the (biblical) six days of creation. |
| hexaemeric+ |
relating to a HEXAEMERON. |
| horal |
pertaining to hour(s); hourly. |
| horary |
pertaining to an hour; continuing for an hour; hourly. |
| hour |
sixty minutes. |
| hourlong |
lasting an hour. |
| howre |
(arch.) an hour. |
| instant |
a very short period of time. |
| interregnum |
the time during which a throne is vacant between two reigns; a lapse in a continuous series. |
| intraday |
occurring within a single day. |
| jiff jiffy |
an instant. |
| jour |
a day, as in jour de feste. |
| kalpa |
see CALPA. |
| laytime |
the total time allowed for the loading and unloading of cargo. |
| lifelong |
lasting the duration of a life. |
| lifespan |
the length of a life. |
| lifetime |
the length of a life. |
| longtime |
enduring for a long time, e.g. my longtime friend. |
| lunation |
a lunar month; the interval between successive new moons. |
| lustrum |
a purification of the whole Roman people made in ancient times after the census every five years; by extension a period of five years, a QUINQUENNIUM. Pl. LUSTRA or LUSTRUMS. |
| meantime meanwhile |
(noun) a period of time while something else is going on. |
| mensual |
pertaining to a month; monthly. |
| microsecond |
one millionth of a second. |
| millennium |
a period of one thousand years. Pl. MILLENNIA or MILLENNIUMS. |
| millisecond |
a thousandth part of a second. |
| minute |
sixty seconds; (adj.) small: MINUTER, MINUTEST. |
| mo |
a moment. Pl. MOS. |
| moment |
a very short period of time. |
| momentany |
momentary. |
| momentariness |
the state of being momentary. |
| momentary |
lasting for a moment. |
| momently |
for a moment. |
| moneth |
a month. |
| month |
one of the twelve conventional divisions of the year, or its length. |
| monthlong |
lasting for a month. |
| multiday+ |
lasting for more than one day. |
| multiyear |
lasting many years. |
| nanosecond |
a billionth of a second. |
| nightlong |
lasting all night. |
| noughties+ |
the decade from 2000 to 2009. |
| nychthemeral |
of or relating to a NYCHTHEMERON or 24-hour period. |
| nychthemeron |
a full period of a day and night: 24 hours. |
| ouk oulk |
(Scots) a week. |
| period |
one of the main divisions of geological time; (verb) to come or bring to an end. |
| permanent |
remaining, or intended to remain, indefinitely; (noun) a permanent member of staff. |
| permanence permanency |
the fact or state of being permanent. |
| permanently |
(adv.) PERMANENT. |
| picosecond |
a millionth of a second. |
| protense |
an extension in time, a duration. |
| quadrennium |
a period of four years. Pl. QUADRENNIA or QUADRENNIUMS. |
| quadriennium |
a period of four years. Pl. QUADRIENNIA not QUADRIENNIUMS*. |
| quinquennium |
a period of five years. Pl. QUINQUENNIA or QUINQUENNIUMS. |
| saeculum seculum |
an astronomical or geological age. Pl. SAECULUMS, SECULUMS. |
| saronic |
relating to a SAROS, q.v. |
| saros |
a cycle of 6585.32 days in which eclipses of the sun and moon occur in same sequence and at the same intervals as in the previous such cycle. [Gk. saros, from Babylonian sharu 3600]. |
| season |
one of the four natural divisions of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter; a limited period. |
| second |
the SI unit of time (symbol s), defined in terms of the resonance vibration of the caesium-133 atom as the interval occupied by a specific number of cycles. |
| seculum |
see SAECULUM. |
| semester |
a period of six months; especially, a term in a college or university which divides the year into two terms. [L. semestris, from sex, six + mensis, a month]. |
| sempiternal |
of never-ending duration, eternal. |
| sennight |
the space of seven nights and days, a week. [OE seofon nihta, from seofon, seven + nihta, plural of niht, night]. |
| septennate |
a period of seven years; as, the septennate during which the President of the French Republic holds office. |
| septennium |
a period of seven years. Pl. SEPTENNIA. |
| sexcentenary |
relating to the number 600 or a period of 600 years. |
| somewhile |
once; for a time. |
| subepoch |
a subdivision of an EPOCH. |
| subperiod |
part of a PERIOD. |
| svedberg |
a unit of time used to measure sedimentation velocity. [From Theo Svedberg, Swedish chemist]. |
| tarnal |
(coll.) eternal. |
| tarnally |
(adv.) TARNAL, eternal. |
| temporary |
lasting for a time only; not permanent. |
| temporariness |
the state of being TEMPORARY. |
| termtime |
a period during which pupils are attending school. |
| timeframe |
a limited or restricted period of time. |
| timescale |
the period within which something happens or is to happen. |
| towmon towmond towmont |
a twelvemonth. |
| transient |
not lasting long; (noun) a transient thing or being. |
| transientness |
the state of being TRANSIENT. |
| transitoriness |
the state of being TRANSITORY. |
| transitory |
not lasting long. |
| trice |
a very short time; (verb) to haul and make fast. |
| triduan |
lasting three DAYS. |
| triennium |
a period of three years. Pl. TRIENNIA or TRIENNIUMS. |
| trimester |
a period of three months, an academic term. |
| trimestrial trimestral+ |
relating to a TRIMESTER. |
| twelvemonth |
a period of twelve months. |
| uptime |
the time during which machinery is functioning. |
| week |
a period of seven days. |
| weeklong |
lasting for a week. |
| while |
an indefinite period of time. |
| whilere |
while. |
| workaday |
suitable for a work day, plain and practical; (noun) a working day. |
| workweek |
the working week. |
| year |
the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun. |
| yearlong |
lasting a year. |
| yonks |
ages, a long time. N.B. no YONK*. |
| zeptosecond |
a 10 to the -21 part of a second. |
