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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.
Examples of epoch in a Sentence
Carly Miller, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
Written and directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on the manga by Masamune Shirow, the film sits at the center of a Venn diagram of several cultural epochs.
—Dan Schindel, Vulture, 21 June 2024
During the epoch starting in 2032, more than 99% of the bitcoin supply will have been issued.
—Liam Wright, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
If our explorations of the strange frontiers of solid-state physics are successful, there is always a chance that the next epoch of technology will come to be known as the Strange Metal Age.
—Douglas Natelson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Epoch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epoch. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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