adjective
modern
Relating to the historical period after the Middle Ages.
This course traces modern European history from the Renaissance onward.
Etymology
The Latin adjective described what belonged to the present or recent age. Historians later fixed modern as a period-name for the era following the Middle Ages.
More examples
- Historians often place the start of the modern era around 1500.
- The museum divides its collection into ancient, medieval, and modern sections.
- Ocean voyages transformed trade during the early modern period.
Forms
modern
Similar words
- postmedieval
- Explicitly means after the Middle Ages, without suggesting present-day life.