Main Entry:

mo·ment

Pronunciation:

\ˈmō-mənt\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin momentum movement, particle sufficient to turn the scales, moment, from movēre to move

Date:

14th century

1 a: a minute portion or point of time : instant b: a comparatively brief period of time2 a: present time <at the moment she is working on a novel> b: a time of excellence or conspicuousness <he has his moments>3: importance in influence or effect <a matter of great moment>4obsolete : a cause or motive of action5: a stage in historical or logical development6 a: tendency or measure of tendency to produce motion especially about a point or axis b: the product of quantity (as a force) and the distance to a particular axis or point7 a: the mean of the nth powers of the deviations of the observed values in a set of statistical data from a fixed value b: the expected value of a power of the deviation of a random variable from a fixed value

synonyms see importance