Eras

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Distinct time intervals identified by unique characteristics or events
2. Specific periods in history recognized for their notable features or transformations
3. Long durations in history characterized by important transformations or defining events

Etymology: "Eras" is the plural of "era," so the story belongs to the singular. The word comes from Late Latin "aera," a plural of "aes" (bronze, or money), used in the sense of counting units or the accounts reckoned from a fixed starting point. The Latin sense shows up in the idea of a counting system, which is why the English word still carries the sense of a fixed point from which time is measured. The surprising part is that a word meaning a stretch of time was once a bookkeeping term. A Late Latin scholar would have spoken of an "aera" when dating events from a particular year, so the word began as a label for a reckoning system rather than for the years themselves. Over time that label broadened into the modern sense of a distinct period of history, such as the Victorian era or the Jazz Age.

Synonyms: periods, ages, epochs