Unperiodised

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not divided or arranged into distinct or regular intervals; lacking planned segments or phases; not separated into smaller, organized time frames or parts
2. Describing something that is continuous without segmentation into set periods; exhibiting no clear divisions into intervals or stages; not broken down into defined chronological sections
3. Characterizing an approach or entity without systematic partitioning into time frames; showing no subdivision into discrete periods or cycles; not organized into sequential or fragmentary durations

Etymology: The word is built from "period," which came into English through Latin "periodus" from Greek "periodos," meaning a circuit or cycle. That Greek noun was formed from "peri-" ("around") and "hodos" ("way"), so a period was originally a path that comes back around to its starting point. The sense of a span of time arrived later, and "periodise," meaning to divide something into periods, is a derived verb built on it. It is the British spelling of "periodize," and it is a modern scholarly coinage, most common in history and the study of culture, not a word with an ancient pedigree. Adding "un-" to make a negative and "-ed" to make an adjective from the verb are both ordinary English processes. The result describes something that has not been divided into such intervals or phases.

Synonyms: unperiodized, nonperiodized

Antonyms: periodised, periodized