epoch

E'POCH, noun [Latin epocha; Gr. retention, delay, stop, to inhibit; to hold.] 1. In chronology, a fixed point of time, from which succeeding years are numbered; a point from which computation of years begins. The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and the Babylonish captivity, are remarkable epochs in their history. 2. Any fixed time or period; the period when any thing begins or is remarkably prevalent; as the epoch of falsehood; the epoch of woe. The fifteenth century was the unhappy epoch of military establishments in time of peace.