What is period? How to use in English

Definition & pronunciation of period

periodnoun

kỳ, thời kỳ, thời gian, thời đại

/ˈpɪərɪəd/

Definition & pronunciation of <b>period</b>

Where does the word period come from?

late Middle English (denoting the time during which something, especially a disease, runs its course): from Old French periode, via Latin from Greek periodos ‘orbit, recurrence, course’, from peri- ‘around’ + hodos ‘way, course’. The sense ‘portion of time’ dates from the early 17th century

Vocabulary summary period

typenoun

meaningperiod, period, period, stage, time

examplethe periods of history

exampleperiods of a disease

examplea period of rest

meaningmodern times

examplethe girl of the period

meaninglesson

typeadjective

meaning(belonging to) the era, having the nature of the era, having the color of the (past) era (furniture, clothing, architecture)

examplethe periods of history

exampleperiods of a disease

examplea period of rest

Example of vocabulary periodlength of time

meaning

a particular length of time

  • a long/an extended period
  • a short/brief period
  • a period of transition/uncertainty/expansion
  • a period of two years/six months/four weeks
  • a two-year/six-month/four-week period
meaning

a length of time in the life of a particular person or in the history of a particular country

  • Which period of history would you most like to have lived in?
  • This textbook covers the post-war period.
  • The church dates from the Norman period.
  • We are currently studying the early medieval period.
  • Like Picasso, she too had a blue period.
meaning

a length of time which is a division of an era. A period is divided into epochs.

  • the Jurassic period
  • Dinosaurs died out during the Cretaceous period.

Example of vocabulary periodlesson

meaning

any of the parts that a day is divided into at a school, college, etc. for study

  • ‘What do you have next period?’ ‘French.’
  • a free/study period (= for private study)

Example of vocabulary periodwoman

meaning

the flow of blood each month from the body of a woman who is not pregnant

  • period pains
  • monthly periods
  • When did you last have a period?

Example of vocabulary periodpunctuation

meaning

the mark ( . ) used at the end of a sentence and in some abbreviations, for example e.g.

Synonyms and related words for period

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