14 January 2014

ephemeral

[ih-fem-er-uhl]

adjective

1. lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory: the ephemeral joys of childhood.
2. lasting but one day: an ephemeral flower.

noun

3. anything short-lived, as certain insects.

Origin:
1570–80; < Greek ephḗmer ( os ) short-lived, lasting but a day ( ep- ep- + hēmér ( a ) day + -os adj. suffix) + -al1

Related forms
e·phem·er·al·ly, adverb
e·phem·er·al·ness, noun
non·e·phem·er·al, adjective
non·e·phem·er·al·ly, adverb
un·e·phem·er·al, adjective

Synonyms
1. fleeting, evanescent, transient, momentary, brief.

Antonyms
1. permanent.

Anagram

eel hamper
me a helper
repel a hem
ample here

Today’s aphorism

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

– Anais Nin

On this day

14 January 1977 – death of Anais Nin, French-Cuban author. Born 21 February 1903.

14 January 1984 – death of Ray Kroc, founder of MacDonalds … and the Big Mac … Born 5 October 1902. Kroc had bought out Dick and Mac MacDonald before establishing the franchise network of fast-food restaurants.