epoch

1. 1.

   a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event

   Synonymsera

   Broadertime period

   NarrowerCaliphateChristian eradayhistoric periodmodern era
2. 2.

   (astronomy) an arbitrarily fixed date that is the point in time relative to which information (as coordinates of a celestial body) is recorded

   Synonymsdate of reference

   Broaderdate

   astronomy

3. 3.

   a unit of geological time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself divided into ages

   Broadergeological time

   NarrowerHolocenePleistocenePlioceneMioceneOligoceneEocenePaleocene

   Part ofperiod

Other forms of epoch

plural

epoches·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about epoch

What does epoch mean?

epoch means "a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in epoch?

epoch has 2 syllables: ep-och. The stress falls on "ep". In IPA it is /ˈɛpək/.

What is another word for epoch?

Close synonyms include era, date of reference. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is epoch a common word?

epoch is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.