epiphany

WOTD - 22 March 2008    

See also Epiphany

English

Etymology

From Old French epiphanie from Late Latin epiphania from Ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epiphaneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”) from ἐπιφαίνω (epiphainō, “I appear, display”) from ἐπί (epi, “upon”) + φαίνω (phainō, “I shine, appear”). English Epiphany (of Christ) since the 14th century, generic use since the 17th century.

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɪˈpɪf.ə.ni/, /ɛˈpɪf.ə.ni/
• (US) IPA: /ɪˈpɪf.ə.ni/, /əˈpɪf.ə.ni/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

epiphany (plural epiphanies)

1. A manifestation or appearance of a divine or superhuman being.
2. An illuminating realization or discovery, often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder.
3. (Christianity) Season or time of the Christian church year from the Epiphany feast day to Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday), the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent (See Epiphany).

Synonyms

• satori
• enlightenment

Translations

manifestation or appearance of a divine or superhuman being

Bulgarian: богоявление (bg) n. Chinese: Mandarin: 主顯節 (zh), 主显节 (zh) (Zhǔxiǎnjié) Croatian: epifànija (hr) f., bogojávljēnje (hr) n. Czech: zjevení (cs) n. Esperanto: epifanio (eo)

German: Erscheinung (de) f., Offenbarung (de) f., Manifestation (de) f., Epiphanie (de) f. Greek: επιφάνεια (el) (epifáneia), θεοφάνεια (el) (theofáneia) Japanese: エピファニー (ja) (Epifanī), 公現祭 (ja) (こうげんさい, Kōgensai) Romanian: epifanie (ro) n. Russian: явление (ru) (javlénije) n., богоявление (ru) (bogojavlénije) f. Spanish: epifanía (es) f., manifestación (es) f.

illuminating realization or discovery

Chinese: Mandarin: 頓悟 (zh), 顿悟 (zh) (dùnwù), 洞察 (zh) (dòngchá), 領悟 (zh), 领悟 (zh) (lǐngwù) Croatian: epifànija (hr) f. Dutch: epifanie, ingeving n.

French: illumination (fr) German: Erleuchtung (de) f., Heureka-Moment (de) m., Aha-Erlebnis (de) n. Japanese: 洞察 (ja) (どうさつ, dōsatsu) Romanian: epifanie (ro) n. Russian: прозрение (ru) (prozrénije) n.

See also

• Advent
• Christmas
• Twelve Days of Christmas