ephemera

noun

ephem·​era i-ˈfe-mə-rə How to pronounce ephemera (audio)
-ˈfem-rə
plural ephemera also ephemerae i-ˈfe-mə-rē How to pronounce ephemera (audio)
-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 Converge 45 also wrote the grant to secure $30,000 from the Ford Family to produce Watt’s piece, a room sized installation of neon and ephemera mounted on freestanding wooden panels. Briana Miller | , oregonlive, 11 Sep. 2023 His finds come from the Internet, ephemera dealers, booksellers, auction houses. Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023 The exhibition shares the stories of eight LGBTQ+ elders through oral histories, images, art and ephemera. Steven Vargas, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2023 The show includes some 125 items — not just maps, but also guidebooks, pamphlets, and other ephemera. G.W. Bromley & Co., Boston, Massachusetts, South Station Site After, Plate 12, 1902.WardMaps LLC The maps range in date from 1634 to the present. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023 After debuting in Los Angeles and then moving to New York City, the exhibit has come to the Holocaust Museum in Houston for a summer-long residency, with new, Texas-specific ephemera provided by none other than Ziggy Gruber, co-founder of Kenny & Ziggy's. Brittanie Shey, Chron, 11 May 2023 Where to Shop Main Street Aurora’s main drag has an array of cute little shops, with an ever-changing array of antiques, ephemera, and sundries. Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 22 Aug. 2023 People have been collecting ephemera related to baseball, soccer, and various other sports since who knows when. Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2023 Branca is equally fond of such quirky ephemera as wax and marble feet and antique intaglios. Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, 4 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ephemera.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek ephēmera, neuter plural of ephēmeros

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ephemera was in 1650

Dictionary Entries Near ephemera

Cite this Entry

“Ephemera.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ephemera. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

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