n. & adj.
--n.
1. a length or portion of time (showers and bright periods).
2 a distinct portion of history, a person's life, etc. (the Georgian period; Picasso's Blue Period).
3 Geol. a time forming part of a geological era (the Quaternary period).
4 a an interval between recurrences of an astronomical or other phenomenon. b the time taken by a planet to rotate about its axis.
5 the time allowed for a lesson in school.
6 an occurrence of menstruation.
7 a a complete sentence, esp. one consisting of several clauses. b (in pl.) rhetorical language.
8 esp. US a full stop (see FULL(1)). b used at the end of a sentence etc. to indicate finality, absoluteness, etc. (we want the best, period).
9 a a set of figures marked off in a large number to assist in reading. b a set of figures repeated in a recurring decimal. c the smallest interval over which a function takes the same value.
10 Chem. a sequence of elements between two noble gases forming a row in the periodic table.
--adj. belonging to or characteristic of some past period (period furniture).
Phrases and idioms:
of the period of the era under discussion (the custom of the period). period piece an object or work whose main interest lies in its historical etc. associations.
Etymology: ME f. OF periode f. L periodus f. Gk periodos (as PERI-, odos hodos way)