Advanced — Set 32

Set 32 of Advanced covers 5 words: duration, interval, contemporary, leap year, eons . Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. duration · noun/dʊrˈeɪʃ(ə)n/

   the period of time during which something occurs

   "Please keep your train tickets for the duration of the trip," the crew member told the passengers.

   Synonyms: time, time span, while

   Origin: late Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin duratio(n-), from durare ‘to last’, from durus ‘hard’

2. interval · noun/ˈɪn(t)ərv(ə)l/

   a span of time between two events

   Earthquakes are not evenly spread out over time, which means that they do not happen at regular intervals.

   Synonyms: break, pause

   Origin: Middle English: from Old French entrevalle, based on Latin intervallum ‘space between ramparts, interval’, from inter- ‘between’ + vallum ‘rampart’

3. contemporary · adjective/kənˈtɛmpəˌrɛri/

   belonging to the present time

   Our furniture collection contains a wide selection of styles, from antique to contemporary, to suit your particular taste.

   Synonyms: modern, current, present-day

   Origin: mid 17th century: from medieval Latin contemporarius, from con- ‘together with’ + tempus, tempor- ‘time’ (on the pattern of Latin contemporaneus and late Latin contemporalis)

4. leap year · noun/ˈlip ˌjɪr/

   every fourth year of the Gregorian calendar that has an extra day on February 29th

   Marie had only 15 birthdays in 60 years, because she was born in a leap year!

   Synonyms: intercalary year

   Origin: late Middle English: probably from the fact that feast days after February in such a year fell two days later than in the previous year, rather than one day later as in other years, and could be said to have ‘leaped’ a day

5. eons · noun

   a very long period of time, literally, billions of years (mostly used in the plural)

   "Eons ago, massive young galaxies started expanding in our universe,¨ commented the presenter at the planetarium as images appeared impressively across the screens.

   Synonyms: ages