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 album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across 24 CD variants (all with collectible ephemera, some randomized, inside its packaging). —Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Aug. 2025

What used to be industry ephemera has become the status galley, a new form of cultural currency. —Carson Griffith, Air Mail, 19 July 2025

Sifting through decades of obituaries, journals and other ephemera, cowell uses those materials to exhume generations of her family from her Texas hometown. —Pamela Avila, USA Today, 26 July 2025

There are replicas of her most beloved pots and utensils, handwritten and typed letters, and other ephemera. —Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ephemera

• femora