Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EPHEMERA

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connect today's word to others: Something literally ephemeral, like a disease or the life of an insect or flower, lasts for only one day. And something literally qu____ian, like a symptom of a disease, happens once each day. We studied that word because it has a more useful general meaning: it describes whatever is dull and ordinary in an everyday kind of way. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "EPHEMERA" This word comes from Greek roots for "on a day." Something ephemeral lasts for a day, or for a short time. An ephemeron is a single thing that lasts for a very short time, and to make that word plural, we don't write "ephemerons" but rather "ephemera." Ephemera are things that last for a very short time. Pronunciation: if EM ur uh Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one ephemeron or multiple ephemera.) Other common forms: Again, the singular noun is "ephemeron" (but it's rare) and the plural is "ephemera." The adjective is "ephemeral," and the adverb is "ephemerally."  For the noun, you can pick between "ephemerality" and "ephemeralness." I prefer "ephemerality." How to use it: The word "ephemera" can take on any tone: happy, sad, wistful, accepting, or matter-of-fact.  Although "ephemera" originally meant "fevers that lasted for a day," and although it later extended to mean "insects and flowers that live for only a day," this word has almost no lingering medical or biological flavor--we use it to describe anything short-lived or quickly disappearing, whether that's good, bad, or neutral. So, what kinds of things can be ephemera?  Often, ephemera are written materials and other things that we generally throw away after a while, like notes, receipts, greeting cards, magazines, and newspapers.  But ephemera can also be abstract things, like fashions and trends, approval and popularity, interest and engagement, knowledge and understanding, information and news bites, etc. Of course, one man's ephemera is another man's treasure: you might hold onto some of yours forever ("a box of ephemera from their first year of marriage") or find some in a museum ("fishing ephemera," "cultural ephemera," "rock 'n' roll ephemera"). When you use the adjective, "ephemeral," it's less likely that you'll talk literally about ephemeral fevers, insects, or flowers and more likely that you'll talk about ephemeral thoughts or impressions, ephemeral feelings or desires (like ephemeral loyalty, obsession, relief, or pride), ephemeral messages, ephemeral dreams or memories, ephemeral gains or victories, and so on. examples: Because I used to equate ephemera with the memories attached to them, I'd hold onto every note, letter, and movie ticket. Steve isn't necessarily chasing after ephemera like money or fame; I think he's genuinely trying to create something that improves people's lives. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "ephemera" means when you can explain it without saying "odds and ends to use and then throw out" or "stuff that quickly disappears." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Some fact, skill, piece of knowledge, feeling, desire, or memory) turned out to be ephemeral: I forgot it/them as soon as _____." Example: "My nighttime worries about the problem turned out to be ephemeral: I forgot them as soon as I woke up and got to work on it." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "A Vocabulary of Movie Quotes." Jean Picker Firstenberg at the American Film Institute (AFI) says, "Great movie quotes become part of our cultural vocabulary." I believe it! I bet you can recall, verbatim, any of the AFI's "100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time" if all I give you is a single word from the quote. For example, if I give you the word KANSAS, I bet you can recite this: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," from The Wizard of Oz (1939). I'll share each answer in the following issue. And we’ll work our way forward in time, starting with the oldest movies. Let’s play! From the previous issue: From another 1939 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word FRANKLY? Answer: From Gone with the Wind: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Try this today: From a 1942 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word GIN? review today's word: 1. The opposite of EPHEMERALITY is A. SHAME B. FUGACITY C. PERPETUITY 2. Can we talk about A&E's show Storage Wars? Before the cameras roll, how many of those _____ are planted by the producers, and how much of the ephemera have they _____? A. costly collectibles .. tidily discarded B. competitors .. interviewed but rejected C. heirlooms .. exaggerated or just plain invented Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A