What does ceas mean?
"Ceas" is not an established word in modern English. Writers who use it are almost invariably intending "cease," the standard verb meaning to stop or bring to an end. Because the two spellings differ by only one letter, "ceas" shows up occasionally in older texts and in typing errors, which can make it look like a legitimate variant; however, no major English dictionary recognizes it as a current headword. It does have independent meaning elsewhere: in Romanian, "ceas" means a clock or an hour, deriving from Latin "hora" via Slavic intermediaries, but this sense has no place in English usage. For anyone writing or editing English text, the correct course is simple — replace "ceas" with "cease" when a verb meaning to stop is intended, or with another word entirely if a different meaning was intended. Treating "ceas" as anything other than an error risks confusing readers.
verb (archaic variant spelling)Definition pending review.
- Archaic or nonstandard spelling of "cease".
Plural applies only to the Romanian noun.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ceas
No independent etymology exists for "ceas" in English, since it is merely an occasional misspelling of "cease." The intended word "cease" comes from Old French "cesser," from Latin "cessare" ("to stop"), a frequentative of "cedere" ("to yield"). If treated as a foreign word, Romanian "ceas" ("clock, hour") derives ultimately from Latin "hora."
How ceas is actually used
"Ceas" is not found in modern standard dictionaries as an independent English headword. Readers encountering it are almost certainly dealing with a misspelling of "cease" or a word from another language (Romanian "ceas" means "clock" or "hour").
Easily confused with ceas
"Cease" is the standard modern English verb meaning to stop; "ceas" appears only as a rare historical or erroneous spelling and is not a current English word.