Époque

Époque is a French noun meaning a distinct period in time, marked by particular circumstances, developments, or features. It refers to both historical eras and, in scientific contexts, geologic time subdivisions. In English, the closest equivalent is epoch, and the French form appears in set phrases such as Belle Époque, which denotes roughly the period from the 1870s to 1914 when Western Europe experienced cultural flourishing and relative peace.

In historical and cultural contexts, époque describes a period associated with particular features, as in phrases like à l'époque baroque or à l'époque victorienne. In geology and paleontology, époque denotes an epoch, a subdivision of a geologic period; French usage includes names of epochs such as l'Éocène (the Eocene) and le Miocène (the Miocene).

Etymology: The word derives from Greek epokhē meaning a stopping or point in time, via Latin epocha to French époque. The English word epoch shares the same origin. The accent in French distinguishes identité and pronunciation from the English loanword, and the term is widely used in academic, historical, and cultural discourse to denote a defined stretch of time rather than a precise calendar moment.