Pé'ri-od1, n.
(89), n. [Fr. période, It., Sp., & Pg. período, Lat. periodus, from Gr. περίοδος, a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time, from περί, round, about, and ὁδός, a way.] 1. A portion of time as limited and determined by some recurring phenomenon, as by the completion of a revolution of one of the heavenly bodies; a series of divisions of time in which something is completed and ready to re-commence and go on in the same order. Some experiments would be made how by art to make plants more lasting than their ordinary period. Bacon.
- Hence, specifically, a stated and recurring interval of time; a round or revolving series of years by which time is measured; a cycle.
- Hence, more generally, an interval of time, specified or left indefinite; a certain series of years, months, days, or the like; a time; an age; epoch; an era.
- The termination or point of completion of a revolution, cycle, series of events, single event, or act; limit; end; conclusion.
So spake the archangel Michael, then paused, As at the world's great period. Milton. This is but the beginning of those evils which shall never end till eternity hath a period. Bp. Taylor. 5. (Rhet.) A complete sentence, from one full stop to another; hence, sentence; phrase; clause. Periods are beautiful when they are not too long. B. Jonson. Not a period shall be unsaid for me. Milton. The period, according to the grammarian Heyse, is a compound sentence consisting of a protasis and apodosis; according to the grammarian Becker, it is the appropriate form for the co-ordinate propositions related by antithesis or causality. J. W. Gibbs.
- (Print.) The point that marks the end of a complete sentence; a full stop, thus [.]
- (Math.) One of several similar sets of figures or terms, marked by points or commas placed regularly after a certain number, as in numeration, in the extraction of roots, and in circulating decimals.
- (Med.) The time of the exacerbation and remission of a disease, or of the paroxysm and intermission.
- (Mus.) A complete musical sentence.
Syn.—Time; date; epoch; era; age; duration; continuance; limit; bound; end; conclusion; determination.