eon en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈeɪ.ɔn/ (Australia)
- /ˈiː.ən/ (UK, dated)
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈi.ɑn/ (Canada, US)
- (US) audio
- /ˈiː.ɔn/ (Australia)
- /ˈeɪ.ɔn/ (UK)
- /ˈiː.ɔn/ (UK)
- /ˈeɪ.ɑn/ (Canada, US)
Etymology
From Latin aeon, from Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn, “age, era”).
Meanings
- Eternity, the duration of the universe.
- An immeasurably or indefinitely long period of time.
-
(US, excessive, informal) A long period of time.
It’s been eons since we last saw each other.
Traditionally, a luncheon is a lunch that takes an eon.
1990, Judith Martin, Miss Manners’ Guide for the Turn-of-the-Millennium (A Fireside Book), New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 453:
-
A period of one billion (short scale, i.e. 1,000,000,000) years; a gigayear.
We live our lives in three dimensions for our threescore and ten allotted years. Yet every branch of contemporary science, from statistics to cosmology, alludes to processes that operate on scales outside of human experience: the millisecond and the nanometer, the eon and the light-year.
2012 January 14, Robert L. Dorit, “Rereading Darwin”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2012, page 23:
- The longest geochronologic unit, being a period of hundreds of millions of years; subdivided into eras.
- A spirit being emanating from the Godhead.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eons | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| æon | alternative, dated | lexicographic | |
| aeon | Commonwealth, alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
moment · jiffy · never in a month of Sundays
Deriveds
eonic · geon · eonian · light eon
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
temporal æon · supereon · Phanerozoic eon · Hadean eon · Archean eon · Proterozoic eon
Relateds
until one is blue in the face · yottasecond · time immemorial · until the cows come home · time out of mind
Synonyms
age · coon's age · eld · interval · forever and a day · forever · dog's age · crow's age · donkey's years · interim · eternity · meantime · month of Sundays · long haul · minute · ages · years · eon · while · yonks · blue moon · lifetime · interlude · long run · spell · aeon
Translations (79)
nl eon (geochronologic unit) · sv evighet (eternity) · fi ikuisuus (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · no eon (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · nl eterniteit (eternity) · de Äon (geochronologic unit) · he עִדָּן (geochronologic unit) · ru целая ве́чность (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · it eone (a being emanating from the Godhead) · mi manomano tau (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · es evo (geochronologic unit) · no eon (a being emanating from the Godhead) · it eone (geochronologic unit) · sv eon (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · he עִדָּן (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · es eón (geochronologic unit) · eo eono (geochronologic unit) · bg вечност (eternity) · es añales (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · sv eon (geochronologic unit) · pl eon (a being emanating from the Godhead) · sh vječnost (eternity) · cs věčnost (eternity) · cs eon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · fr éon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · pt éon (geochronologic unit) · fi iäisyys (eternity) · kk эон (geochronologic unit) · pt eternidade (eternity) · ko 이언 (geochronologic unit) · sh eon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · fr bail (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · pt éon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · ga aeón (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · sh eon (eternity) · fr éon (geochronologic unit) · pl wieczność (eternity) · ru эо́н (geochronologic unit) · it eone (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · cmn 宙 (geochronologic unit) · fi ikuisuus (eternity) · mi pōpōroroa (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · es eón (eternity) · nl eon (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · es añares (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · fi aioni (geochronologic unit) · no eon (eternity) · nl eon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · sh eon (geochronologic unit) · cs eon (a being emanating from the Godhead) · pt eternidade (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · tr sonsuzluk (eternity) · fr éternité (eternity) · ga aeón (geochronologic unit) · pt éon (a being emanating from the Godhead) · es eternidad (eternity) · es eón (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · nl sempiterniteit (eternity) · fi maailmankausi (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · cs věk (geochronologic unit) · no eon (period of 1,000,000,000 years) · ru ве́чность (eternity) · mi pōpōroa (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · cs celá věčnost (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · hi अनंतकाल (eternity) · ca eó (geochronologic unit) · sh eon (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · ru ты́сяча лет (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · pl eon (geochronologic unit) · bg вечност (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · ru эо́н (a being emanating from the Godhead) · ko 누대 (geochronologic unit) · fi iänkaikkisuus (eternity) · eo eono (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · sv evighet (informal, hyperbolic: a long period of time) · ja 累代 (geochronologic unit) · nl eeuwigheid (eternity) · no eon (geochronologic unit) · ja アイオーン (a being emanating from the Godhead)