Coeval

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kəʊˈiːvəl/

Definitions

1. Existing or occurring during the same period of time as something or someone else
2. having the same age or time period as another person or thing
3. originating from or belonging to the same historical era as something else

Etymology: Coeval comes from the Latin "aevum", meaning "age" or "lifetime", a word that also gave English "eternity" and "longevity" by way of other routes. The prefix is "con-", which in this case carries the sense of "together" or "with", so the whole thing literally means "of the same age". Latin's Late stage produced "coaevus" from these two parts, and English later took it on. The word is therefore a kind of counting term: two things are coeval when they share the same span of years, whether two people born in the same generation or two buildings put up in the same decade. Its earliest English uses are in the register of learned writing, which explains why it has never become everyday speech. Its sense is narrow and exact, and that precision is much of its appeal.

Synonyms: contemporary, synchronous

Antonyms: antiquated, obsolete, outdated