period

pe-ri-od · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A length or portion of time.

  2. 2.

    A punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence.

  3. 3.

    A division of a school day.

  4. 4.

    A menstrual cycle.

  5. 5.

    (Chemistry) A horizontal row in the periodic table.

  6. 6.

    Used to emphasize finality (American English).

Forms

plural: periods

Related words

See also: age, era, time
Synonyms: age, era, span, time

Etymology

From Old French periode, from Latin periodus, from Greek periodos meaning "cycle, circuit, period of time," from peri (around) + hodos (way, journey). The punctuation sense developed because a period marks the end of a sentence "circuit."