Millennium

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /mɪˈlɛnɪəm/

Definitions

1. A period lasting one thousand years, often used to denote significant transitions in culture or history
2. An interval of one thousand years typically recognized for its impact on societal developments or historical events
3. A time span that encompasses one thousand years and is frequently associated with major cultural or historical milestones

Etymology: The word looks like a grand Roman coinage, but it is built from quite ordinary pieces: Latin "mille" meaning "thousand," and "annus" meaning "year," which combine into "mīllennis," an adjective meaning "of a thousand years." The Latin ending "-ium" was attached to form an abstract noun, so the term names the very idea of a thousand-year span rather than any particular event. The Latin word passed into English in its Late Latin form, "mīllennium," which also appears in theological writing about the thousand-year reign of Christ described in the Book of Revelation. That religious background explains why the word carried such weight from the start: a thousand years was the length of a prophesied golden age, and the term came to stand for any long, transformative period.

Synonyms: century, decade, era, age, period

Antonyms: moment, instant, minute