ephemera

noun

ephem·​era i-ˈfe-mə-rə 

-ˈfem-rə

plural ephemera also ephemerae i-ˈfe-mə-rē 

-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

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

Both have gold and silver embroidery and room for travel ephemera like tickets and claim checks. —Catherine Garcia, theweek, 22 Feb. 2024

The firm’s current auction, Grateful Dead 2: Rare and Curated Items, is a wide-ranging gathering of band treasures and ephemera, artwork and vintage sound equipment. —Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

While most of it is cultural ephemera floating in a stew of inconsequential nonsense, footage from one Nickelodeon TV show has popped up on my algorithm and made a prominent reemergence in my life: Roundhouse. —Eliot Glazer, Vulture, 12 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1