PERIOD

period, point, full stop, stop, full point

(noun) a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations; “in England they call a period a stop”

menstruation, menses, menstruum, catamenia, period, flow

(noun) the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause; “the women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation”; “a woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped”--Hippocrates; “the semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females”--Aristotle

period

(noun) the end or completion of something; “death put a period to his endeavors”; “a change soon put a period to my tranquility”

period, geological period

(noun) a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed; “ganoid fishes swarmed during the earlier geological periods”

period

(noun) (ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games

period

(noun) the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

period (plural periods)

A length of time. [from 17th c.]

A period of time in history seen as a single coherent entity; an epoch, era. [from 16th c.]

(now, chiefly, North America) The punctuation mark “.” (indicating the ending of a sentence or marking an abbreviation).

The length of time during which the same characteristics of a periodic phenomenon recur, such as the repetition of a wave or the rotation of a planet. [from 17th c.]

Female menstruation. [from 18th c.]

A section of an artist's, writer's (etc.) career distinguished by a given quality, preoccupation etc. [from 19th c.]

Each of the divisions into which a school day is split, allocated to a given subject or activity. [from 19th c.]

(chiefly, North America) Each of the intervals into which various sporting events are divided. [from 19th c.]

(obsolete, medicine) The length of time for a disease to run its course. [15th-19th c.]

An end or conclusion; the final point of a process etc. [from 16th c.]

(rhetoric) A complete sentence, especially one expressing a single thought or making a balanced, rhythmic whole. [from 16th c.]

(obsolete) A specific moment during a given process; a point, a stage. [17th-19th c.]

(chemistry) A row in the periodic table of the elements. [from 19th c.]

(geology) A subdivision of an era, typically lasting from tens to hundreds of millions of years, see Appendix: Geologic timescale.

(genetics) A Drosophila gene, the gene product of which is involved in regulation of the circadian rhythm.

(music) Two phrases (an antecedent and a consequent phrase).

(math) The length of an interval over which a periodic function, periodic sequence or repeating decimal repeats; often the least such length.

(archaic) End point, conclusion.

Synonyms

• (punctuation mark “.”): point; full stop (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa); dot (computing); full-point, plain point (obsolete)

• (menstrual period): see also menstruation.

• See also period

Antonyms

• (length of time of recurrence of a periodic phenomenon): frequency

Hyponyms

• pseudoperiod

Adjective

period (not comparable)

Designating anything from a given historical era.

Evoking, or appropriate for, a particular historical period, especially through the use of elaborate costumes and scenery.

Interjection

period

(chiefly, North America) That's final; that's the end of the matter (analogous to a period ending a sentence); end of story

Synonyms

• (that's final): full stop

Verb

period (third-person singular simple present periods, present participle perioding, simple past and past participle perioded)

(obsolete, intransitive) To come to a period; to conclude.

(obsolete, transitive, rare) To put an end to.

Anagrams

• dopier, dorpie

Source: Wiktionary


Pe"ri*od, n. Etym: [L. periodus, Gr. période.]

1. A portion of time as limited and determined by some recurring phenomenon, as by the completion of a revolution of one of the heavenly bodies; a division of time, as a series of years, months, or days, in which something is completed, and ready to recommence and go on in the same order; as, the period of the sun, or the earth, or a comet.

2. Hence: A stated and recurring interval of time; more generally, an interval of time specified or left indefinite; a certain series of years, months, days, or the like; a time; a cycle; an age; an epoch; as, the period of the Roman republic. How by art to make plants more lasting than their ordinary period. Bacon.

3. (Geol.)

Definition: One of the great divisions of geological time; as, the Tertiary period; the Glacial period. See the Chart of Geology.

4. The termination or completion of a revolution, cycle, series of events, single event, or act; hence, a limit; a bound; an end; a conclusion. Bacon. So spake the archangel Michael; then paused, As at the world's great period. Milton. Evils which shall never end till eternity hath a period. Jer. Taylor. This is the period of my ambition. Shak.

5. (Rhet.)

Definition: A complete sentence, from one full stop to another; esp., a well-proportioned, harmonious sentence. "Devolved his rounded periods." Tennyson. Periods are beautiful when they are not too long. B. Johnson.

Note: The period, according to Heyse, is a compound sentence consisting of a protasis and apodosis; according to Becker, it is the appropriate form for the coördinate propositions related by antithesis or causality. Gibbs.

6. (Print.)

Definition: The punctuation point [.] that marks the end of a complete sentence, or of an abbreviated word.

7. (Math.)

Definition: One of several similar sets of figures or terms usually marked by points or commas placed at regular intervals, as in numeration, in the extraction of roots, and in circulating decimals.

8. (Med.)

Definition: The time of the exacerbation and remission of a disease, or of the paroxysm and intermission.

9. (Mus.)

Definition: A complete musical sentence. The period, the present or current time, as distinguished from all other times.

Syn.

– Time; date; epoch; era; age; duration; limit; bound; end; conclusion; determination.

Pe"ri*od, v. t.

Definition: To put an end to. [Obs.] Shak.

Pe"ri*od, v. i.

Definition: To come to a period; to conclude. [Obs.] "You may period upon this, that," etc. Felthman.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 December 2024

QUANDONG

(noun) Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit


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Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

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