momentary

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word momentary. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word momentary, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say momentary in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word momentary you have here. The definition of the word momentary will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofmomentary, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From Middle English momentare, from Late Latin mōmentārius (of brief duration), from mōmentum (a short time, an instant). By surface analysis, moment +‎ -ary.

Pronunciation

Adjective

momentary (comparative more momentary, superlative most momentary)

  1. Lasting for only a moment.
  2. Happening at every moment; perpetual.
  3. Ephemeral or relatively short-lived.
    • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: G. Fenton  , →OCLC:
      Yet oh! what an immense difference did I feel between this impression of a pleasure merely animal, and struck out of the collision of the sexes by a passive bodily effect, from that sweet fury, that rage of active delight which crowns the enjoyments of a mutual love-passion, where two hearts, tenderly and truly united, club to exalt the joy, and give it a spirit and soul that bids defiance to that end which mere momentary desires generally terminate in, when they die of a surfeit of satisfaction!
    • 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict:
      Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, [] .”

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  • momentary”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams