Meanings
comparative more epochal · superlative most epochal
- Of or pertaining to an epoch.
- figurativelyHighly important or significant; monumental, epoch-making.
It had been an epochal decade for cancer epidemiology, but equally, an epochal decade for tobacco.
2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 2501 more example
But they were the great epochal design; their influence on locomotive development is felt to this day and their niche in railway history is secure.
1954 May, John W. Grant, “A Railway Requiem”, in Railway Magazine, page 351
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehighly significant or important especially bringing about or marking the beginning of a new development or era
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishepoch
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishepochal
Translations
German epochal
- epochalhighly important
Italian epocale
- epocaleof or pertaining to an epoch
Polish epokowy, epokowy
- epokowyof or pertaining to an epoch
- epokowyhighly important
- przełomowyhighly important
Romanian epocal, epocal
- epocalof or pertaining to an epoch
- epocalhighly important
Cite this entry
epochal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epochal
“epochal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epochal. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epochal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epochal.
Source: epochal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.