ephemeral
pronunciation
How to pronounce ephemeral in British English:
UK [ɪˈfemərəl]
How to pronounce ephemeral in American English:
US [ɪˈfɛmərəl]
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- Adjective:
- enduring a very short time
Word Origin
- ephemeral
- ephemeral: [16] Ephemeral, now used fairly loosely for ‘transitory’, originally meant specifically ‘lasting only one day’. It comes from Greek ephémeros, a compound formed from the prefix epí- ‘on’ and hēmérā ‘day’. The Greeks named the mayfly ephémeron, since its adult form lives only one day, and English adopted ephemeron [16] as the scientific name for the insect.
- ephemeral (adj.)
- 1560s; see ephemera + -al (1). Originally of diseases and lifespans, "lasting but one day;" extended sense of "transitory" is from 1630s. Related: Ephemerally; ephemerality.
Example
- 1. Yet many of those profits turned out to be ephemeral .
- 2. It 's just as important to record the ephemeral good times .
- 3. The analytical difficulty , however , lies in working out which of these trends will have staying power and which will turn out simply to reflect the ephemeral mood of the moment .
- 4. Though most tools are ephemeral , some of your best tools are a simple pencil and sketch pad .
- 5. The gain may be ephemeral , however , as fallout from the housing bust and the recession persists .