A Word A Day — coeval

with Anu Garg

coeval

(ko-EE-vuhl)

adjective: Having the same age or duration.
noun: A contemporary.

From Latin coaevus, from co- (in common) + aevum (age), from Greek aion (age). Ultimately from the Indo-European root aiw-/ayu- (vital force, life, eternity) that is also the source of ever, never, aye, nay, eon, eternal, medieval, primeval, utopia, Sanskrit Ayurveda.

“Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born in the same year, on the same day: Feb 12, 1809. … Instinctively, we want to say that they belong together. It’s not just because they were both great men, and not because they happen to be exact coevals. Rather, it’s because the scientist and the politician each touched off a revolution that changed the world.”
Malcolm Jones; Who Was More Important: Lincoln or Darwin?; Newsweek (New York); Jul 7, 2008.

Only the madman is absolutely sure. -Robert Anton Wilson, novelist (1932-2007)