epiphany

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The word epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning to manifest or to show.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.
  2. noun January 6, on which this feast is traditionally observed.
  3. noun A revelatory manifestation of a divine being.
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Examples (50)

  • “Not that kind of epiphany,” she said, shoving him away and drawing back the curtain to reach for a towel. —  A Taint in the Blood
  • But if my epiphany was that of a million other disaffected, twenty-one-year-old state school philosophers, it was also that of a young man who had just buried his brother, and I must say — I went a little crazy that day. —  Land of the Blind by Jess Walter
  • I envied him the luxury of this slow epiphany, and knew alarm at Delaunay's response, a careful distancing that spoke volumes. —  Carey, Jaqueline - Kushiel's Dart orig
  • The word epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning to manifest or to show. —  AfterDowningStreet.org - Bush-Cheney Trials in '09
  • This epiphany is not really an epiphany as a few weeks back I caught a glimpse of my old self shopping when I firmly told myself that I was NOT going to buy a pair of UGG's because they are practical and opted to buy a pair of tall black boots with biker bitch buckles. —  reddogknits
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English epiphanie, from Old French, from Late Latin epiphania, from Greek epiphaneia, manifestation, from epiphainesthai, to appear : epi-, forth; see epi- + phainein, phan-, to show; see bhā-1 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English epyphany, from Old French epiphanie, French épiphanie = Provencal epifania, epiphania = Spanish epifanía = Portuguese epiphania = Italian epifania, pifania, befania (see befana), from Late Latin epiphania, feminine singular, epiphania, neuter plural, from Greek ἐπιφάνεια, feminine singular, appearance, manifestation, sudden appearance, apparition, LGr. the epiphany, from ἐπιφανής, appearing (suddenly), becoming manifest (especially of deities), from ἐπιφαίνειν, show forth, manifest, from ἐπί + φαίνειν, show: see fancy, phantasm, etc.
 

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/əˈpɪfəni/
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