pe·ri·od (pîr  - d)n. 1. An interval of time characterized by the occurrence of a certain condition, event, or phenomenon: a period of economic prosperity. 2. An interval of time characterized by the prevalence of a specified culture, ideology, or technology: artifacts of the pre-Columbian period. 3. An interval regarded as a distinct evolutionary or developmental phase: Picasso's early career is divided into his blue period and rose period. 4. Geology A unit of time, longer than an epoch and shorter than an era. 5. Any of various arbitrary units of time, especially: a. Any of the divisions of the academic day. b. Sports & Games A division of the playing time of a game. 6. Physics & Astronomy The time interval between two successive occurrences of a recurrent event or phases of an event; a cycle: the period of a satellite's orbit. 7. An instance or occurrence of menstruation. 8. A point or portion of time at which something is ended; a completion or conclusion. 9. The full pause at the end of a spoken sentence. 10. A punctuation mark ( . ) indicating a full stop, placed at the end of declarative sentences and other statements thought to be complete, and after many abbreviations. 11. A sentence of several carefully balanced clauses in formal writing. 12. a. A metrical unit of quantitative verse consisting of two or more cola. b. An analogous unit or division of classical Greek or Latin prose. 13. Music A group of two or more phrases within a composition, often made up of 8 or 16 measures and terminating with a cadence. 14. Mathematics a. The least interval in the range of the independent variable of a periodic function of a real variable in which all possible values of the dependent variable are assumed. b. A group of digits separated by commas in a written number. c. The number of digits that repeat in a repeating decimal. For example, 1/7 = 0.142857142857 . . . has a six-digit period. 15. Chemistry A sequence of elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number and forming one of the horizontal rows in the periodic table. adj. Of, belonging to, or representing a certain historical age or time: a period piece; period furniture. interj. Used to emphasize finality, as when expressing a decision or an opinion: You're not going to the movies tonight, period! [Middle English periode, from Old French, from Medieval Latin periodus, from Latin perihodos, rhetorical period, from Greek periodos, circuit : peri-, peri- + hodos, way.] Synonyms: period, epoch, era, age, term These nouns refer to a portion or length of time. Period is the most general: a short waiting period; a difficult period of my life; the Romantic period in music. Epoch refers to a period regarded as being remarkable or memorable: "We enter on an epoch of constitutional retrogression" (John R. Green). An era is a period of time notable because of new or different aspects or events: "How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book" (Henry David Thoreau). An age is usually a period marked by a distinctive characteristic: the age of Newton; the Iron Age. A term is a period of time to which limits have been set: Senators are elected for a term of six years. Word History: Many may have wondered why the word period has the sense "punctuation mark ( . )" as well as several senses having to do with time. The answer to this question lies in one of the senses of the Greek word periodos from which our word is descended. Periodos, made up of peri-, "around," and hodos, "way," in addition to meaning such things as "going around, way around, going around in a circle, circuit," and with regard to time, "cycle or period of time," referred in rhetoric to "a group of words organically related in grammar and sense." The Greek word was adopted into Latin as perihodos, which in the Medieval Latin period acquired a new sense related to its use in rhetoric, "a punctuation mark used at the end of a rhetorical period." This sense is not recorded in English until 1609, but the word had already entered English as a borrowing from Old French in the sense "a cycle of recurrence of a disease," first being recorded in a work written around 1425. |
period
Noun
1. a portion of time: six inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period
2. a portion of time specified in some way: the President's first period of office
3. an occurrence of menstruation
4. Geol a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks is formed: the Jurassic period
5. a division of time at school, college, or university when a particular subject is taught
6. Physics, maths the time taken to complete one cycle of a regularly recurring phenomenon
7. Chem one of the horizontal rows of elements in the periodic table
8. Chiefly US & Canad same as full stop
Adjective
dating from or in the style of an earlier time: a performance on period instruments [Greek periodos circuit]
period (p r-d)1. A division of geologic time that is longer than an epoch and shorter than an era. 3. An occurrence of menstruation. 4. In the Periodic Table, any of the seven horizontal rows that contain elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number. All the elements in a particular period have the same number of electron shells in their atoms, equal to the number of the period. Thus, atoms of nickel, copper, and zinc, in period four, each have four electron shells. See Periodic Table. |
The time it takes for a satellite to complete one orbit around the earth. As a rule of thumb, satellites with periods of 87.5 minutes are on the verge of reentry.
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  period - an amount of time; "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period"fundamental measure, fundamental quantity - one of the four quantities that are the basis of systems of measurement test period, trial period - a period of time during which someone or something is tested time frame - a time period during which something occurs or is expected to occur; "an agreement can be reached in a reasonably short time frame" hours - an indefinite period of time; "they talked for hours" downtime - a period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is not operating (especially as a result of malfunctions) uptime - a period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is functioning and available for use work time - a time period when you are required to work time off - a time period when you are not required to work; "he requested time off to attend his grandmother's funeral" bout - a period of illness; "a bout of fever"; "a bout of depression" hospitalization - a period of time when you are confined to a hospital; "now they try to shorten the patient's hospitalization" travel time - a period of time spent traveling; "workers were not paid for their travel time between home and factory" times - a more or less definite period of time now or previously present; "it was a sign of the times" time - an indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities); "he waited a long time"; "the time of year for planting"; "he was a great actor in his time" elapsed time - the time that elapses while some event is occurring duration, continuance - the period of time during which something continues calendar week, week - a period of seven consecutive days starting on Sunday midweek - the middle of a week field day - a time of unusual pleasure and success life-time, lifespan, lifetime, life - the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death); "the battery had a short life"; "he lived a long and happy life" life - the period between birth and the present time; "I have known him all his life" life - the period from the present until death; "he appointed himself emperor for life" millennium, millenary - a span of 1000 years bimillenary, bimillennium - a span of 2000 years occupation - the period of time during which a place or position or nation is occupied; "during the German occupation of Paris" past - a earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret); "reporters dug into the candidate's past" shelf life - the length of time a packaged food or drug will last without deteriorating puerperium - time period following childbirth when the mother's uterus shrinks and the other functional and anatomic changes of pregnancy are resolved; "a perinatologist cared for her during the puerperium" lactation - the period following birth during which milk is secreted; "lactation normally continues until weaning" time of life - a period of time during which a person is normally in a particular life state calendar day, civil day - a day reckoned from midnight to midnight festival - a day or period of time set aside for feasting and celebration daylight, daytime, day - the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside; "the dawn turned night into day"; "it is easier to make the repairs in the daytime" forenoon, morn, morning, morning time - the time period between dawn and noon; "I spent the morning running errands" night - the time between sunset and midnight; "he watched television every night" night - the period spent sleeping; "I had a restless night" night - a period of ignorance or backwardness or gloom eve - the period immediately before something; "on the eve of the French Revolution" evening - the early part of night (from dinner until bedtime) spent in a special way; "an evening at the opera" |
| 2. | period - the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon interval, time interval - a definite length of time marked off by two instants orbit period - the time it takes to complete one full orbit around a celestial body; "the orbit period depends on the altitude of the satellite" | |
| 3. | period - (ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games hockey game, ice hockey, hockey - a game played on an ice rink by two opposing teams of six skaters each who try to knock a flat round puck into the opponents' goal with angled sticks division, section, part - one of the portions into which something is regarded as divided and which together constitute a whole; "the written part of the exam"; "the finance section of the company"; "the BBC's engineering division" period of play, playing period, play - (in games or plays or other performances) the time during which play proceeds; "rain stopped play in the 4th inning" | |
| 4. | period - a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed; "ganoid fishes swarmed during the earlier geological periods" geologic time, geological time - the time of the physical formation and development of the earth (especially prior to human history) geological era, era - a major division of geological time; an era is usually divided into two or more periods epoch - a unit of geological time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself divided into ages glacial epoch, glacial period, ice age - any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface; "the most recent ice age was during the Pleistocene" | |
| 5. | period - the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility" | |
| 6. | period - 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 expelling, discharge, emission - any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body; "the discharge of pus" hypermenorrhea, menorrhagia - abnormally heavy or prolonged menstruation; can be a symptom of uterine tumors and can lead to anemia if prolonged oligomenorrhea - abnormally light or infrequent menstruation | |
| 7. | period - 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" punctuation mark, punctuation - the marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases suspension point - (usually plural) one of a series of points indicating that something has been omitted or that the sentence is incomplete |
period
Translations
period [ˈpɪərɪəd] n → período, periodo;
(HISTORY) → época;
(US) (SPORT) → tiempo
adj [costume, furniture] → de época;
the holiday period → el período de vacaciones
period [ˈpɪərɪəd] n → période f;
(History) → époque f;
(Med) → règles fpl
adj [costume, furniture] → d'époque;
period [ˈpɪərɪəd] n (= length of time) → Zeitraum m, Periode f (= era); Zeitalter nt;
(Scol) → Stunde f;
(esp US) (= full stop); Punkt m;
(Med) (also: menstrual period) → Periode
adj [costume etc] → zeitgenössisch;
the holiday period (Brit) → die Urlaubszeit;
period [ˈpɪərɪəd] n → periodo;
(HISTORY) → epoca;
(US ) (FOOTBALL) → tempo;
(MED) → mestruazioni fpl
adj [costume, furniture] → d'epoca;
n period [ˈpiəriəd]
1 any length of time a period of three days; a period of waiting. tydperk فَتْرَه период období, doba periode; tidsrum die Zeitspanne περίοδος período aeg بازه زمانی؛ زمان aika, ajanjakso période פֶּרֶק-זְמָן काल, अवधि razdoblje,vrijeme (idő)tartam masa tími, skeið, tímabil periodo 期間 기간 laikotarpis, metas periods; laika posms tempoh periode tidsrom, periode okres período perioadă промежуток времени; период obdobie, doba obdobje period period, tidsrymd ระยะเวลา süre, dönem 時期 період زمانہ giai đoạn 时期
2 a stage in the Earth's development, an artist's development, in history etc the Pleistocene period; the modern period. tydperk عَهْد، عَصْر ера éra, epocha, fáze periode; tidsalder das Zeitalter περίοδος, εποχή era, fase, etapa periood, ajastu دوره؛ عصر aikakausi ère, période תְּקוּפָה परिक्रमण काल period,razdoblje kor(szak) zaman tímabil periodo, era ～紀 (발달 과정의) 단계, 기(期), 시대 periodas, epocha periods; laikmets zaman tijdperk tidsalder, stadium, periode faza, okres período eră, epocă эпоха éra, epocha doba period period, skede สมัย dönem, çağ 紀 період, час عہد kỷ 纪
3 the punctuation mark (.), put at the end of a sentence; a full stop. punt نُقْطَة تَدُل عَلى إنتِهاء الجُمْلَه точка tečka punktum ), put at the end of a sentence; a full stop.der Punkt τελεία punto punkt نقطه piste point (final) נְקוּדָה पूर्ण वाक्य točka pont (írásjel) titik punktur punto ピリオド 마침표 taškas punkts noktah punt punktum kropka ponto punct точка bodka pika tačka punkt เครื่องหมายมหัพภาค nokta 句號 крапка فل اسٹاپ dấu chấm 句号
adj
(of furniture, costumes etc) of or from the same or appropriate time in history; antique or very old period costumes; His house is full of period furniture (=antique furniture). tydperk من نَفْس الفَتْرَه стар dobový, historický tidstypisk; stil- zeitgeschichtlich, Stil... εποχής (π.χ. για ένδυμα) de época ajalooline وابسته به دوره بخصوص؛ قدیمی historiallinen, tyyli- d'époque תְּקוּפָה प्राचीन starinski,historijski korabeli; stíl- zaman dulu frá tilteknu tímabili (d'epoca) 時代物の 어느(과거의) 시대의; 아주 오래 된 senovinis, būdingas tam tikrai epochai vēsturisks; laikmeta- zaman dulu antiek stil-, i den tids stil historyczny, antyczny de época de epocă исторический; старинный dobový, historický stilen star tidstrogen, stil[] เก่า belli bir döneme ait 過去某一特定時期的 такий, що належить до певного періоду قديم cổ/ lâu 过去某一特定时期的
adj periˈodic [-ˈo-]
1 happening, done etc occasionally He suffers from periodic fits of depression. periodiek من فَتْرَةٍ الى اُخْرى периодичен občasný, příležitostný periodevis regelmäßig περιοδικός periódico perioodiline گهگاهی kausittainen périodique תְקוּפָתִי नियतकालिक periodičan időszakos kadang-kadang terjadi reglulegur periodico 周期的な 이따금의, 간헐적인 periodiškas periodisks berkala periodiek periodisk; tidvis okresowy periódico periodic периодический občasný občasen periodičan periodisk, periodiskt återkommande บางครั้งบางคราว arasıra olan 間發的 періодичний ميعادي theo chu kỳ 间发的
2 (alsoˌperiˈodical) happening, done etc at regular intervals periodical reports. gereeld دَوْري، على فَتَرات منتَظَمَه цикличен pravidelný periodisk regelmäßig περιοδικός periódico perioodiline ادواری؛ تناوبی toistuvais-, kausi- périodique מַחזוֹרִי नियतकालिक u razmacima periodikus berkala gert/gefið út reglulega periodico 定期の 정기의 periodinis periodisks, regulārs berkala periodiek periodisk, med jevne mellomrom okresowy periódico periodic периодический pravidelný reden periodičan periodisk, periodiskt återkommande ซึ่งเป็นระยะ ๆ düzenli aralıklarla olan 周期的 періодичний دوري định kỳ 周期的
adv periˈodically
We see each other periodically. nou en dan, gereeld دَوْرِيَّا، في فَتَرات مُنْتَظَمَه периодично pravidelně lejlighedsvist regelmäßig περιοδικά periódicamente perioodiliselt گهگاه؛ متناوباً ajoittain périodiquement בְּמַחזוֹרִיוּת नियतकाल में periodički időnként kadang-kadang reglulega; öðru hverju periodicamente 定期的に 정기적으로 periodiškai periodiski, regulāri secara berkala met regelmatige tussenpozen med jevne mellomrom okresowo periodicamente periodic время от времени pravidelne redno periodično då och då, med jämna mellanrum อย่างเป็นครั้งคราว düzenli aralıklarla 定期地 час від часу; періодично مختصر وقفہ سے một cách định kỳ 定期地
n periˈodical [-ˈo-]
a magazine which is issued regularly (every week, month etc). tydskrif مَجَلَّه أو نَشْرَة دَورِيَّه периодично издание časopis tidsskrift die Zeitschrift περιοδικό periódico, publicación periódica ajakiri مجله ای که با فاصله زمانی مشخص چاپ می شود aikakauslehti périodique כְּתָב-עֵת आवर्ती perodičan,periodika folyóirat berkala tímarit periodico 定期刊行物 정기 간행물, 잡지 periodinis leidinys periodisks izdevums berkala tijdschrift tidsskrift czasopismo periódico periodic, publicaţie periodică периодическое издание časopis periodični tisk mesečni časopis tidskrift ซึ่งตีพิมพ์ตามกำหนดเวลา dergi, mecmua 期刊 періодичне видання, журнал ہفتہ وار، ماہ وار رسالہ tạp chí xuất bản định kỳ 期刊
adj
see periodic.
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