era English · revision 4056

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1615|origins=la aes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈɪə.rə/, US /ˈɪr.ə/, /ˈer.ə/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|aera|t=a number used as a basis of reckoning; an epoch from which time is reckoned]], also ēra,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps influenced by French ère,^(Barnhart 1988) probably the same word as [[la|aera|t=counters used for calculation]], the plural of [[m|la|aes|t=brass, copper, money]] used as a feminine singular.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is related to [[ore]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The starting point from which a series of years is reckoned: 1615 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, spelled aera;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the spelling era is from 1716.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The use of the Latin word in chronology is said to have begun in 5th-century Spain, where the local era, the aera Hispanica, began in 38 BC.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Other ancient eras included those of Actium (31 BC) and the Olympiads (776 BC).^(Etymonline) “A system of chronological notation” is from the 1640s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “a historical period” from 1741,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as in the American Era of Good Feelings (1817), which, Etymonline remarks, was anything but.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A period in a person's life is from 1796,^(OED 1989) and in geology one of the longest divisions of time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1615 – the starting point of a reckoning.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1640s – a system of dating.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1716 – the spelling era.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1741 – a historical period.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1796 – a period in a person's life.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A period of time reckoned from a particular date or event: ''the Christian era''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A period marked by particular circumstances, events or persons: ''the Victorian era''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An event or date that begins such a period; an [[epoch]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In [[geology]], one of the longest divisions of time, made up of periods.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ore]]

+ * [[epoch]]

+ * [[age]]

+ * [[eon]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ERA is also an abbreviation of earned run average in baseball and of the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States.^(SOED 2002)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}