Phrase guide

Spring and Autumn

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Of, from, or related to a period of Chinese history during the first half of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, usually reckoned from its founding at Luoyang in 771 BC until the Partition of Jin in 403 BC, considered to have begun the Warring States period.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

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Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 春秋 (Chūnqiū), the attributive sense of 春秋時代 /春秋时代 (Chūn–Qiū Shídài, “Spring and Autumn period”), derived from the name of its seminal history, the Confucian classic Spring and Autumn Annals. The title of the work reflected a common Chinese metonym, using "spring and autumn" to refer to the year as a whole.