Meanings
plural ephemerids
- Any in the family Ephemeridae of mayflies.
I had flown in a helicopter with Javits and Bobby Kennedy. I was skirring around New York like an ephemerid, my jacket lined with jolly psychedelic green.
1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 51
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐφήμερος
- New Latinephemerus
- translingualEphemeridae
- Englishephemerid
From translingual Ephemeridae, from New Latin ephemerus, from Ancient Greek ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros), the more common form of ἐφημέριος (ephēmérios, “of, for, or during the day, living or lasting but for a day, short-lived, temporary”), from ἐπί (epí, “on”) + ἡμέρα (hēméra, “day”).
More words from translingual, New Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ephemerid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephemerid
“ephemerid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephemerid. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ephemerid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ephemerid.
Source: ephemerid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.