EPOCH • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Epoch

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/ˈɛpək/ /ˈipək/ Listen

noun

Epoch n.

1.

A fixed point of time, established in history by the occurrence of some grand or remarkable event; a point of time marked by an event of great subsequent influence; as, the epoch of the creation; the birth of Christ was the epoch which gave rise to the Christian era. "In divers ages,... divers epochs of time were used." "Great epochs and crises in the kingdom of God." "The acquittal of the bishops was not the only event which makes the 30th of June, 1688, a great epoch in history." Note: Epochs mark the beginning of new historical periods, and dates are often numbered from them.

2.

A period of time, longer or shorter, remarkable for events of great subsequent influence; a memorable period; as, the epoch of maritime discovery, or of the Reformation. "So vast an epoch of time." "The influence of Chaucer continued to live even during the dreary interval which separates from one another two important epochs of our literary history."

3.

(Geol.) A division of time characterized by the prevalence of similar conditions of the earth; commonly a minor division or part of a period. "The long geological epoch which stored up the vast coal measures."

4.

(Astron.)

(a)

The date at which a planet or comet has a longitude or position.

(b)

An arbitrary fixed date, for which the elements used in computing the place of a planet, or other heavenly body, at any other date, are given; as, the epoch of Mars; lunar elements for the epoch March 1st, 1860.

Synonyms: Era; time; date; period; age. Epoch, Era. We speak of the era of the Reformation, when we think of it as a period, during which a new order of things prevailed; so also, the era of good feeling, etc. Had we been thinking of the time as marked by certain great events, or as a period in which great results were effected, we should have called the times when these events happened epochs, and the whole period an epoch. "The capture of Constantinople is an epoch in the history of Mahometanism; but the flight of Mahomet is its era."

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Etymology of 'Epoch'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Epoch" Quotes from Famous Books

... over the Huns in the plains of Chalons concerns us a good deal more. Further, it is unfair to the Lower-Empire to view it only as a time of feebleness and cowardice and corruption. It was also an epoch of immense activity, prolific of daring and high-flying adventurers, some of them heroic. Even the most degenerate of the last Emperors never lost the conviction of Roman majesty and grandeur. Unto the ...

— Saint Augustin • Louis Bertrand

... to be evil are necessarily few. In the vast majority of cases the establishment of interests we now seek to proscribe took place in an epoch in which no evil was imputed to them. At first a small minority, usually regarded as fanatics, attack the interests in question. This minority increases, and in the end transforms itself into a majority. But long after majority opinion ...

— The Unpopular Review, Volume II Number 3 • Various

... grew out of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society, which formed an epoch in the history of industrial co-operative institutions. The Equitable Pioneers Society was established in the year 1844, at a time when trade was in a very bad condition, and working people generally were heartless and hopeless as to their future state. Some twenty-eight or thirty men, ...

— Thrift • Samuel Smiles

... have been abated. True, these are mere details; whether they indicate a solid advance in civilization cannot yet be determined. But assuredly the average Briton has cause to jubilate; for the progressive features of the epoch are such as he can understand and approve, whereas the doubt which may be cast upon its ethical complexion is for him either non-existent or unintelligible. So let cressets flare into the night from all the hills! It is no purchased exultation, no servile flattery. The People acclaims ...

— The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft • George Gissing

... the brightest stars of the court. The same autumn (1745) was the epoch of a great event; the marching of Charles Edward into England. Whilst the Duke of Cumberland was preparing to head the troops to oppose him, the Prince of Wales was inviting a party to supper, the main feature ...

— The Wits and Beaux of Society - Volume 2 • Grace & Philip Wharton

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