ephemera

play

noun ephem·era \ i-ˈfe-mər-ə , -ˈfem-rə \

Definition of ephemera

plural ephemera also ephemerae play \i-ˈfe-mər-ē, -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

See ephemera defined for English-language learners

Examples of ephemera in a Sentence

He has a large collection of old menus and other ephemera.

Recent Examples of ephemera from the Web

Housed in what was once the vestibule of the old patent office building, the exhibition showcases a wide assortment of photographs, ephemera and other artifacts dating back to the museums’ 1968 debut.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "The Fused History of Two of Washington, D.C.’s Beloved Museums," 22 Aug. 2017
Browse beautiful vintage art and ephemera in City Island’s antique shops, including Early Ruth Antiques, Focal Point Gallery, and Kaleidoscope Gallery.

— lisa wong macabasco, Vogue, "Island Hopping Through New York City," 9 Aug. 2017
The beauty of Bangs's writing is its messiness—the musings, tangents, anecdotes, and epigrams that somehow end up addressing the main point of his essay, and the way all this ephemera congeals into a coherent body of work.

— tal rosenberg, Chicago Reader, "A one-man show about Lester Bangs has no psychotic reactions," 12 July 2017
The Sewanee Cook Book offers another kind of biography, this time of community as well as colonial ephemera.

— heather richie, Southern Living, "Keeping Receipts: The New Life of Old Cookbooks," 11 July 2017
Along the town’s Main Street, toy aliens, flying saucers and other extraterrestrial ephemera are sold in local shops.

— donovan webster, Smithsonian, "In 1947, A High-Altitude Balloon Crash Landed in Roswell. The Aliens Never Left," 6 July 2017
The material — comprising photographs, city directories, newspaper clippings, restaurant menus, oral histories and other assorted ephemera — is used by historians, researchers and genealogists.

— john kelly, Washington Post, "D.C. Historical Society will move to the Newseum for a year," 29 June 2017
The price set a record for a Disney map and was among the highest ever paid for a piece of Disney ephemera at auction, organizers said.

— reuters, Fortune, "Walt Disney’s Disneyland Investor Pitch Map Fetches $708,000 at Auction," 26 June 2017
For these reasons, aircraft safety cards are a much sought-after piece of air travel ephemera.

— tyler moss, CNT, "5 Things You Didn’t Know About Airplane Safety Cards," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ephemera.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ephemera

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

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First Known Use: 1650

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EPHEMERA Defined for English Language Learners

ephemera

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noun

Definition of ephemera for English Language Learners

: things that are important or useful for only a short time : items that were not meant to have lasting value

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