ephemera

noun

ephem·​era i-ˈfe-mə-rə How to pronounce ephemera (audio)
-ˈfem-rə
plural ephemera also ephemerae i-ˈfe-mə-rē How to pronounce ephemera (audio)
-ˈfem-rē
or ephemeras
1
: something of no lasting significance
usually used in plural
2
ephemera plural : paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles

Examples of ephemera in a Sentence

He has a large collection of old menus and other ephemera.
Recent Examples on the Web Shared Collections Capturing the Civil War The images, diaries, and ephemera in Grand Valley State University’s Civil War and Slavery Collection reveal the cold realities of Abraham Lincoln’s world. JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024 More than a year after spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric that cost him deals with Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap, Ye is still finding inspiration in neo-Nazi ephemera. Mano Sundaresan, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2024 As Key West’s most famed resident, more Hemingway ephemera—and a population of six-toed cats—is on full display at the The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, a decadent French Colonial-style manor accessible via cash-only tours. Matt Kirouac, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2023 The Moores haunt Books & Books, flip through bins at the city’s half-dozen eclectic and well-stocked record shops -- Moore is a zealous collector of vinyl, poetry books, fanzines and ephemera, and Prinz is an art-book editor. Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 9 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for ephemera 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ephemera.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ephemera was in 1650

Dictionary Entries Near ephemera

Cite this Entry

“Ephemera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ephemera. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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