period

English Online Dictionary. What means period‎? What does period mean?

English

Alternative forms

• per. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Middle English periode, from Middle French periode, from Medieval Latin periodus, from Ancient Greek περίοδος (períodos, “circuit, an interval of time, path around”), from περι- (peri-, “around”) + ὁδός (hodós, “way”). Displaced native Middle English tide (“interval, period, season”), from Old English tīd (“time, period, season”), as well as Middle English elde (“age, period”), from Old English ieldu (“age, period of time”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪə.ɹi.əd/, /ˈpɪə.ɹɪ.əd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɪɚ.i.əd/, /ˈpɪɹ.i.əd/
• (Hong Kong) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.ɹɪd/

Noun

period (plural periods)

2. A length of time. [from 17th c.]
4. A length of time in history seen as a single coherent entity; an epoch, era. [from 16th c.]
6. (now chiefly Canada, US, Philippines) The punctuation mark “.” (indicating the ending of a sentence or marking an abbreviation).
8. (figurative) A decisive end to something; a stop.
10. 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.]
12. (euphemistic) Female menstruation; an episode of this. [from 18th c.]
    2. The set of symptoms associated with menstruation, even if not accompanied by menstruation; an episode of these symptoms.
14. A section of an artist's, writer's (etc.) career distinguished by a given quality, preoccupation etc. [from 19th c.]

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

18. (sports, chiefly ice hockey) Each of the intervals, typically three, of which a game is divided. [from 19th c.]

20. (sports, chiefly ice hockey) One or more additional intervals to decide a tied game, an overtime period.

22. (obsolete, medicine) The length of time for a disease to run its course. [15th–19th c.]
24. (archaic) An end or conclusion; the final point of a process, a state, an event, etc. [from 16th c.]
26. (rhetoric) A complete sentence, especially one expressing a single thought or making a balanced, rhythmic whole. [from 16th c.]
28. (obsolete) A specific moment during a given process; a point, a stage. [17th–19th c.]
    • 1720, Alexander Pope, translating Homer, Iliad, Book IV (note 125):

      The Death of Patroclus was the most eminent Period; and consequently the most proper Time for such Games.

30. (chemistry) A row in the periodic table of the elements. [from 19th c.]
32. (geology) A geochronologic unit of millions to tens of millions of years; a subdivision of an era, and subdivided into epochs.

34. (genetics) A Drosophila gene, the gene product of which is involved in regulation of the circadian rhythm.
36. (music) Two phrases (an antecedent and a consequent phrase).
38. (mathematics) The length of an interval over which a periodic function, periodic sequence or repeating decimal repeats; often the least such length.

Synonyms

• (punctuation mark “.”): point; full stop (UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa); dot (computing, abbreviations); full-point, plain point (obsolete)
• (menstrual period): see also Thesaurus:menstruation.
• See also Thesaurus:period

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “length of time of recurrence of a periodic phenomenon”): frequency

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

period (not comparable)

1. Designating anything from a given historical era. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

   a period car

   a period TV commercial

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

Translations

Interjection

period

1. (chiefly Canada, US) 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; that's that; end of discussion

Translations

See also

• (symbol) .

Punctuation

Further reading

• Period on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Period in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• “period”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “period”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Verb

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

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To come to a period; to conclude.
2. (obsolete, transitive, rare) To put an end to.
3. (colloquial) To menstruate; to excrete menstrual blood.

Anagrams

• -poride, dopier, dorpie

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin periodus, Ancient Greek περίοδος (períodos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɛ.rjɔt/
• Rhymes: -ɛrjɔt
• Syllabification: pe‧riod

Noun

period m inan

1. (literary) period (a length of time)

   Synonym: okres

2. (literary) period (a period of time in history seen as a single coherent entity)

   Synonym: okres

3. (literary) period (the length of time during which the same characteristics of a periodic phenomenon recur)

   Synonym: okres

4. (physiology) period (female menstruation)

   Synonyms: ciota, ciotka, menstruacja, miesiączka, okres

5. (rhetoric) period (full sentence)

   Synonym: okres

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

• period in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• period in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Noun

period n (plural perioade)

1. Alternative form of perioadă

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From Latin periodus, from Ancient Greek περίοδος (períodos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /perǐod/
• Hyphenation: pe‧ri‧od

Noun

perìod m (Cyrillic spelling перѝод)

1. period (of time)

Declension

References

• “period”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2024

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛrːjuːd/
• Rhymes: -uːd

Noun

period c

1. a period, a limited amount of time
2. (ice hockey, floorball) period

Declension