In the Thai language, 'สมัย' is a noun that refers to a time period or era. It can be used to refer to a time period in history, such as 'ancient times' or 'the modern era', or it can represent a time that is personally significant, such as 'the time when I was a student'. This term is versatile and can be combined with other words to make it more specific, such as 'สมัยก่อน' ('samai kon') to mean 'in the old days' or 'สมัยนี้' ('samai nee') to mean 'in this era' or 'today'.