Search results for 'period':

period noun 1 a portion of time. 2 a phase or stage, eg in history, or in a person's life and development, etc. 3 an interval of time at the end of which events recur in the same order. 4 geol a a unit of geological time that is a subdivision of an era, and is itself divided into epochs; b any long interval of geological time • glacial period. 5 any of the sessions of equal length into which the school day is divided, and to which particular subjects or activities are assigned. 6 especially N Amer a full stop. 7 colloq added to a statement to emphasize its finality • You may not go, period. 8 the periodic discharge of blood during a woman's menstrual cycle • two weeks since her last period. 9 chem in the periodic table: any of the seven horizontal rows of chemical elements. 10 physics the time interval after which a cyclical phenomenon, eg a wave motion, repeats itself; the reciprocal of the frequency. 11 arith the recurring part of a circulating decimal. adj dating from, or designed in the style of, the historical period in question • period costume • period furniture. period of grace a specific time allowed to both parties to a contract to fulfil any obligations arising from it, or to withdraw from it completely.
ETYMOLOGY: 15c: from Greek periodos circuit or going round, from peri round + hodos way.