Epimeros

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Lasting only for a brief or impermanent period; having a temporary nature that does not endure; characterizing something that is transient and quickly fading away from existence
2. Describing something that exists for a short time and is not fixed; indicating a fleeting quality that passes swiftly; concerning a state that is momentary and lacks permanence
3. Referring to events or conditions that are short-lived and pass without lasting impact; embodying a sense of immediacy that is ultimately short in duration; denoting a brief experience or occurrence that soon vanishes

Etymology: The spelling "epimeros" looks like a slip for "ephemeros," the Greek source of English "ephemeral," so this is the history of that word. It combines "epi," meaning "upon" or "for," with "hēmera," meaning "day," and literally meant "lasting a day." Greek writers applied it to things with a one-day life, such as a fever that broke within a day, and to the mayfly, whose adult life is famously brief. English took the adjective in the 1600s, and it kept the sense of something that lasts only a short time. The related noun "ephemeris," a table listing a celestial body's positions day by day, shares the same root, since such tables were compiled for individual days. The Greek root is the reason that a mayfly, a fever, and a daily astronomical almanac all belong to one family of words.