period

pe•ri•od

[[t]ˈpɪər i əd[/t]] n.

1) an extent of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc.:

a period of illness; a period of social unrest[/ex]

2) a specific division or portion of time:

the postwar period[/ex]

3) a round of time, esp. as marked by the recurrence of some phenomenon:

the rainy period[/ex]

4) spo any of the parts of equal length into which a particular thing, as a sports contest, is divided

5) the time during which something is completed or runs its course:

the gestation period[/ex]

6) gram. the point or character (.) used esp. to mark the end of a declarative sentence or to indicate an abbreviation; full stop

7) gram. a full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence; full stop

8) pro rht a sentence, esp. a well-balanced, impressive sentence

9) rht gram.

periodic sentence

10) phl

a) an occurrence of menstruation

b) a time of the month during which menstruation occurs

11) gel the basic unit of geologic time, during which a standard rock system is formed: comprising two or more epochs and included with other periods in an era

12) phs Physics. the duration of one complete cycle of a wave or oscillation; the reciprocal of the frequency

13) mad a division of a musical composition commonly consisting of two or more contrasted or complementary phrases ending with a cadence

14) astron.

a) the time in which a body rotates once on its axis

b) astron. the time in which a planet or satellite revolves once about its primary

15) pro (in classical prosody) a group of two or more cola

16) noting or pertaining to a historical period

17) cvb (used to indicate that a decision is final):

I forbid you to go, period[/ex]

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Etymology: 1375–1425; < MF < ML periodus, L < Gk períodos circuit, period of time, period in rhetoric