Meaning and Definition of Ephemeral

Definition of ephemeral

The ephemeral term is an adjective of qualifying type that is used to designate those things or that last little and circumstances that occur briefly. The concept of ephemeral comes from the Greek ephemeros, literally meaning ' that lasts a single day '. Although this meaning implied the duration of a day, the term became to be used subsequently to all those facts, circumstances or things that tended to last bit and disappear as soon as.
Normally, the ephemeral term is mostly used for events or natural phenomena since many of them may last only a few seconds, and although recur again and again, its specific duration is very short. This type of event can be very varied and range from the generation of a bubble to the generation of a wave in the sea, or of certain animal behaviors that last little. In this sense, the notion of ephemeral usually also implies the notion of delicacy.
However, events or ephemeral circumstances do not occur only in the space of nature if not that many creations and situations related to the human being can be considered ephemeral. This is true especially in postmodern societies in which the interest by the constant change, the development of new technologies, permanent growth and by the discovery of new and unique sensations are features present in any social group. In this sense, many elements of our current life can be considered ephemeral and, although not all, many of them are related to this type of postmodern societies to which we refer.
Examples of situations or ephemeral things for human beings can be technological to the minute they are improved and overmatched, devices news that have fleeting lifespan due to the constant influx of new features or phenomena such as the same human relations which, today, tend to last much less than what happened centuries ago.