Occurring or existing before the year 2000 or before a millennium, especially referring to the period leading up to the year 2000.
From 'ante-' (before) + 'millennial' (from Latin 'mille' meaning thousand, + '-ennium' meaning year). Became prominent in 1990s culture discussing the 'Y2K' transition.
The 1990s created this word to describe their own anxiety about the future—'antemillennial' captured the unique tension of a whole generation holding their breath before one number changed on the calendar.
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