Contemporaneous Meaning and Definition
Contemporaneous
Pronunciation
/kɒntempəˈreɪniəs/
Part of Speech
Noun
Definition
A thing or period of time that coexists in time, especially in relation to a particular event or era.
Examples
- The contemporaneous records of the event were analyzed to reconstruct the timeline.
- The artist’s contemporaneous peers were largely influenced by modernist movements.
Synonyms
- Contemporary
- Concurrent
Antonyms
- Antecedent
- Subsequent
Etymology
The word “Contemporaneous” comes from the Latin “contemporarius”, meaning “existing or happening at the same time”, derived from “contemporalis”, combining “con-” (together) and “tempor-” (time).
Usage Notes
Contemporaneous is often used in academic, historical, and literary contexts to describe events, periods, or texts that coexist in time. It can be used to create a sense of parallelism or to highlight the interconnectedness of different events or phenomena.
Cultural References
Examples of the word’s use in popular culture can be found in various forms of media, including literature, film, and music. For instance, the term is often used in discussions of historical events or artistic movements to describe the contemporaneous context.
Idiomatic Expressions or Phrases
- Contemporaneous with
- In contemporaneous with
Related Words or Phrases
- Contemporary
- Concurrent
- Coexistent
Collocations
- Contemporaneous with the rise of
- In contemporaneous with the fall of
Frequency of Use
Contemporaneous is a relatively rare word in everyday language, but it is more commonly used in academic, historical, and literary contexts.
Common Misspellings
- Contemperaneous
- Contimporaneous