DIMENSIONS: CONTEXT / Relationship
R E F E R E N C E S
Contemporary adj [com- + temper-, tempus] [1631] 1: happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time 2 a: Simultaneous b: marked by characteristics of the present period: Modern, Current
syn- Contemporary, Contemporaneous, Coeval, Synchronous, Simultaneous, Coincident mean existing or occurring at the same time. Contemporary is likely to apply to people and what relates to them [Abraham Lincoln was contemporary with Charles Darwin]. Contemporaneous applies to events [contemporaneous accounts of the kidndapping]. Coeval refers usu. to periods, ages, eras, eons [two stars thought to be coeval]. Synchronous implies exact correspondence in time and esp. in periodic intervals [synchronous timepieces]. Simultaneous implies correspondence in a moment of time [the two shots were simultaneous]. Coincident is applied to events and may be used in order to avoid implication of causal relationship [the end of World War II was coincident with a great vintage year].
2 Contemporary n, [1646] 1: one that is contemporary with another 2: one of the same or nearly the same age as another
Contemporize vt [1646: to make contemporary
Contempoeraneity n [1772]: the quality of state of being contemporaneous or contemporary
Contemporaneous adj [L contemporaneus, fr. com- + tempor-, tempus time] [ca. 1656]: existing, occurring, or originating during the same time syn- See Contemporary
[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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