Present

Present

The present (or now) is the time that is associated with the events perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is a period of time between the past and the future, and can vary in meaning from being an instant to a day or longer. In radiocarbon dating, the "present" is defined as AD 1950.

Read more about Present.

Famous quotes containing the word present:

    When a language creates—as it does—a community within the present, it does so only by courtesy of a community between the present and the past.
    Christopher Ricks (b. 1933)

    It is very considerably smaller than Australia and British Somaliland put together. As things stand at present there is nothing much the Texans can do about this, and ... they are inclined to shy away from the subject in ordinary conversation, muttering defensively about the size of oranges.
    Alex Atkinson, British humor writer. repr. In Present Laughter, ed. Alan Coren (1982)

    When we leave our child in nursery school for the first time, it won’t be just our child’s feelings about separation that we will have to cope with, but our own feelings as well—from our present and from our past, parents are extra vulnerable to new tremors from old earthquakes.
    Fred Rogers (20th century)