/ ˈiːpɒk; NAmE ˈepək/ noun ( formal or literary )
1.
a period of time in history, especially one during which important events or changes happen
SYN era :
The death of the emperor marked the end of an epoch in the country's history.
2.
( geology ) a length of time which is a division of a period :
geological epochs
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent. (in the Latin form epocha ; originally in the general sense of a date from which succeeding years are numbered): from modern Latin epocha , from Greek epokhē stoppage, fixed point of time, from epekhein stop, take up a position, from epi upon, near to + ekhein stay, be in a certain state.