e|ra

e|ra «IHR uh, EE ruh», noun.

1. an age in history; historical period: »

the Napoleonic era, the Romantic era. The years from 1817 to 1824 in United States history are often called the Era of Good Feeling.

2. a period of time starting from some important or significant happening or date: »

the postwar era.

3. a system of reckoning time starting from some important or significant happening or given date: »

The Christian Era is the period of time reckoned from about four years after the birth of Christ. We live in the 20th century of the Christian Era.

4. one of the five very large divisions of time in geological history: the Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleozoic, Proterozoic, and Archeozoic. An era is usually divided into periods.

5. the period of time to which anything belongs or is to be assigned: »

'Twas in November, but I'm not so sure About the day—the era's more obscure (Byron).

╂[< Late Latin era, variant of aera number, epoch; probably same word as Latin aera counters (for reckoning), plural of aes, aeris brass]

ERA (no periods) or E.R.A.,

1. earned run average.

2. Emergency Relief Administration.

3. Equal Rights Amendment (a proposed constitutional amendment stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex”): »

Proponents of ERA redoubled efforts to…make it law (Caroline Bird).