earth and space

[Style021]

what is an epoch?

[mjd]

epoch |ˌiːpɒk| |ˌɛpɒk|
noun
a period of time in history or a person's life, typically one marked by notable events or particular characteristics : the Victorian epoch.
� the beginning of a distinctive period in the history of someone or something : Jewish reimmigration to Palestine marked an epoch in the history of Jewry.
� Geology a division of time that is a subdivision of a period and is itself subdivided into ages, corresponding to a series in chronostratigraphy : the Pliocene epoch.
� Astronomy an arbitrarily fixed date relative to which planetary or stellar measurements are expressed.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.(in the Latin form epocha; originally in the general sense of a date from which succeeding years are numbered): from modern Latin epocha, from Greek epokhē �stoppage, fixed point of time,� from epekhein �stop, take up a position,� from epi �upon, near to� + ekhein �stay, be in a certain state.�

[celticminded]

Forgive me if I digress, but it seems to me that the word "epoch" is, in my circles, now mainly ascribed to Marxist theory, where it describes the various dichotomies between the systems which have existed within society.

These have included such as master/slave, landlord/serf and bourgeoisie/proletariat.

Apart from these dichotomies, the word "epoch" is not, nowdays, normally used, and terms such as "aeon" would normally be used in scientific circles in its place.