Fleeting

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈfliːtɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Marked by a short-lived existence or swift passage through time
2. Having a transient quality that evokes feelings of temporary beauty or loss
3. Enduring only briefly before passing out of existence

Etymology: The adjective "fleeting" describes something that passes so quickly it barely seems to have existed, and its roots lie in the idea of floating on water. The base is the verb "fleet," from Old English "flēotan," meaning "to float," which is related to the Proto-Germanic root for drifting or gliding on a current. Over the centuries, the sense of moving smoothly on water shifted toward moving swiftly, and "fleet" came to describe something quick, as in a fleet-footed runner. The "-ing" ending turned that verb into an adjective, so a fleeting moment is one that is slipping away like something on a stream. The connection is one of motion rather than time: the image is of an object carried past the observer before it can be grasped.

Synonyms: transient, ephemeral, temporary, short-lived, brief

Antonyms: permanent, lasting, enduring, eternal, stable