All 3 Uses

renaissance
in
A Brief History of the World
(Edited)

The Renaissance was an age in which more individuals felt the value of their human being.

Renaissance = a period of European history known for a revival of intellectual and artistic achievement (14th through mid-17th centuries)
The greatest writer of the Renaissance was William Shakespear.
During the Renaissance America began.
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Definitions:

(1) (renaissance as in: a renaissance)
a revival or renewed interest in something
(2) (Renaissance as in: The Renaissance)
the period of European history known for a revival of intellectual and artistic achievement (14th through mid-17th centuries)

Named as an indication of a rebirth of certain classical ideas that had long been lost to Europe. It has been argued that the movement was strongly influenced by the rediscovery of ancient texts that had been forgotten by Western civilization, but were preserved in some monastic libraries and in the Islamic world, and the translations of Greek and Arabic texts into Latin.

Some historians have suggested that the term Renaissance is loaded and are suggesting the term Early Modern to replace it -- as Middle Ages has largely replaced Dark Ages for the period that preceded the Renaissance.
(3) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Less commonly, Renaissance can be used as part of a proper noun referring to a period of revival or renewed interest other than the European Renaissance.