Word of the Day

: May 6, 2019

ephemeral

adjective ih-FEM-uh-rul

What It Means

1 : lasting a very short time

2 : lasting one day only

ephemeral in Context

The young YouTube star's fame was ephemeral but surprisingly lucrative while it lasted.

"After winter, the garden comes to life with the planting of spring-blooming ephemeral bulbs such as naturalizing daffodils, crocus, tulips, snowdrops and hyacinths that appear before the tree canopy 'leafs out' and perennials burst forth…." — The Parry Sound (Ontario) North Star, 6 Mar. 2019

Did You Know?

The mayfly (order Ephemeroptera) typically hatches, matures, mates, and dies within the span of a few short hours (though the longest-lived may survive a record two days); poets sometimes use this insect to symbolize life's ephemeral nature. When ephemeral (from the Greek word ephēmeros, meaning "lasting a day") first appeared in print in English in the late 16th century, it was a scientific term applied to short-term fevers, and later, to organisms (such as insects and flowers) with very short life spans. Soon after that, it acquired an extended sense referring to anything fleeting and short-lived, as in "ephemeral pleasures."