: an event or a time marked by an event that begins a new period or development
b
: a memorable event or date
2
a
: an extended period of time usually characterized by a distinctive development or by a memorable series of events
b
: a division of geologic time less than a period and greater than an age
3
: an instant of time or a date selected as a point of reference (as in astronomy)
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Epoch comes to us, via Medieval Latin, from Greek epochē, meaning "cessation" or "fixed point." "Epochē," in turn, comes from the Greek verb epechein, meaning "to pause" or "to hold back." When "epoch" was first borrowed into English, it referred to the fixed point used to mark the beginning of a system of chronology. That sense is now obsolete, but today "epoch" is used in some fields (such as astronomy) with the meaning "an instant of time or a date selected as a point of reference." The "an event or a time that begins a new period or development" sense first appeared in print in the early 17th century, and "epoch" has been applied to defining moments or periods of time ever since.
period may designate an extent of time of any length.
periods of economic prosperity
epoch applies to a period begun or set off by some significant or striking quality, change, or series of events.
the steam engine marked a new epoch in industry
era suggests a period of history marked by a new or distinct order of things.
the era of global communications
age is used frequently of a fairly definite period dominated by a prominent figure or feature.
the age of Samuel Johnson
Example Sentences
The Civil War era was an epoch in 19th-century U.S. history. The development of the steam engine marked an important epoch in the history of industry.
Recent Examples on the WebThe search drew their attention to a layer of sandstone from the Miocene epoch, ranging in age from 5 million to 23 million years old, which lies partly under waters controlled by the state of Texas and stretches into Louisiana.Wired, 29 July 2022 Humans likely have been in Utah since the Pleistocene epoch, between 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, the high point of Lake Bonneville, according to Baxter’s manuscript, which in part draws upon the work of numerous scientists and historians.The Salt Lake Tribune, 20 May 2022 These rocks date to an epoch known as the Oligocene, which stretched from 33.9 to 23 million years ago. Devon Bidal, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2022 The power of the novel lies in the strange personal chemistry by which Holleran is at once the celebrator, the satirist, and the elegist of a defining epoch in our history. Alan Hollinghurst, The New York Review of Books, 3 Aug. 2022 Far from possessing the epoch-defining power that Victoria did, Elizabeth and her kin now rule mostly over the realms of kitsch and gossip. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2022 Orbital epoch of ~1200 UTC confirms that the inert 21t rocket core stage remains in orbit and was not actively deorbited. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 26 July 2022 In the classical epoch, man’s speech and his thoughts were directed outward, to people who gathered to listen in the squares and the agoras. Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 American culture underwent such volcanic changes starting in the mid-Sixties that when American Graffiti arrived in 1973, the movie seemed like a time capsule from an ancient epoch — even though it was set only eleven years earlier. Kyle Smith, National Review, 21 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Medieval Latin epocha, from Greek epochē cessation, fixed point, from epechein to pause, hold back, from epi- + echein to hold — more at scheme entry 1
ADJECTIVE | VERB + EPOCH | PREPOSITION | PHRASESADJECTIVE➤new新紀元▸➤modern, present現代;當代▸➤early, past早期/過去的時代▸➤historical歷史時期VERB + EPOCH➤mark標誌紀元◇The dropping of the first atom bomb marked a new epoch in warfare.第一顆原子彈的投擲標誌着戰爭進入了新紀元。PREPOSITION➤during an/the epoch, in an/the epoch在某時代◇the importance of the computer in the present epoch計算機在當代的重要性➤epoch of⋯的時代◇an epoch of great social change社會大變革的時代➤epoch in存在於⋯的時代◇Welfare reform was an epoch in the history of US social policy.福利改革開闢了美國社會政策史上的一個新時代。PHRASES➤the beginning of an epoch, the end of an epoch一個時代的開端/結束