Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A rebirth or revival.
- n. The humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature, and learning that originated in Italy in the 14th century and later spread throughout Europe.
- n. The period of this revival, roughly the 14th through the 16th century, marking the transition from medieval to modern times.
- n. A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor: the Celtic Renaissance.
- n. The period of such a revival.
- adj. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Renaissance or its artistic and intellectual works and styles.
- adj. Of or being the style of architecture and decoration, based on classical models, that originated in Italy in the 15th century and continued throughout Europe up to the end of the 16th century.
Wiktionary
- n. A rebirth or revival.
- n. historic The transition period between medieval and modern times, the Renaissance.
Etymologies
- From French renaissance. (Wiktionary)
- French, from Old French, from renaistre, to be born again, from Vulgar Latin *renāscere, from Latin renāscī : re-, re- + nāscī, to be born. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“ The term renaissance is often used to describe any revival or rediscovery.”
“I don't think the term renaissance is overstating it.”
“And then come the Indians, the natives people, and the music that we still today are singing in the baroque music at the end of the renaissance is a mix of this confluence of old Spain, African rhythmical and songs, and Indian influences - all this mixed together.”
“Hence the word "renaissance" has come to be applied to Asia's reemergence today.”
The Huffington Post: George Yeo: Nalanda and the Asian Renaissance
“You know, just -- my father was what they call a renaissance man, you know, he did everything.”
“By the eighties, the music was becoming more popular among Mexican Americans, and "renaissance" is the word that best describes its appeal in the nineties.”
“Is that enough to call it a 21st century coin renaissance?”
“The renaissance is described in a book, "How to Walk to School," with contributions by Arne Duncan, the U.S. secretary of education who was Chicago 's superintendent of schools, and Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff who is now running for mayor of Chicago.”
“Dubai's nascent art and cultural renaissance is largely due to determined individuals with boundless energy converting industrial warehouses in the Al Quoz district to art galleries, communal spaces and concert halls.”
The Huffington Post: Hisham Wyne: Social Entrepreneurs and Change in Dubai
“The "Republican renaissance" is nothing short of hilarious.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘renaissance’.
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Verbal_Advantage
paraphrase, ostensible, digress, uncanny, candor, morose, adept, saturated, pragmatic, congenial, capricious, blatant and 38 more...
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art & art historical
chiaroscuro, architrave, column, capital, corinthian, dorice, entablature, frieze, ionic, sketch, abecedarian, abstraction and 124 more...
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Words that sound nice
I can't say exactly what makes these words sound so harmonious...the finely balanced distribution of consonants and vowels? the lack of harsh sounds? the regal elegance of Latin roots? anyway...
felicity, luminous, caliper, amatory, valedictorian, sanatorium, nice, chrysalis, luminosity, luminescence, senescence, evanescence and 6 more...
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Snooty
Words that think way too much of themselves
notoriety, posh, victorian, mien, terrace, veritable, ambivalent, paradox, hypocrisy, damned, caprice, renaissance and 8 more...
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dandy's list
favourite words
cattywampus, wibble, fenagle, whisker, sneeze, wisteria, honeysuckle, clove, perihelion, glimmer, twilight, dusk and 264 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
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harmony of the spheres
tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, subtonic, leading tone, progression, sonata, concerto, allegro and 247 more...
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List Erine
cool mint antiseptic
shalom, cattywampus, bourgeoisie, aerophile, traverse, grotto, epicurean, ex cathedra, nautilus, epitaph, lathe, continuum and 753 more...
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katiad's Words
exquisite, obnoxious, noxious, extravaganza, whirlwind, whirling, wild, spinster, existential, chaos, zephyr, blasphemy and 310 more...
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kmalladi's favorites
edification, penchant, ablution, extricate, frank, triumvirate, trifecta, egregious, hoi polloi, articulate, antediluvian, brusque and 291 more...
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Big Book #2 List
absolution, restitution, contrition, moratorium, nautical, nirvana, pandemonium, perennial, symposium, dialectic, dipsomaniacal, ecumenical and 117 more...
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mandarine's Words
antepenultimate, metonymy, synecdoche, pop, kern, inherit, clique, scrumptious, macerate, murmur, kerning, veranda and 1068 more...
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Samme's Words
soliloquy, meander, creativity, magic, discovery, happiness, empowerment, abundance, [magnificent], iridescent, artistic, magical and 694 more...
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elij's Words
diegesis, intrinsic, semantic, salience, nonchalant, infosthetics, ambiguous, altruism, cynical, abstruse, vatic, encomium and 137 more...
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dienekes's Words
chutzpah, lexicon, intrepid, pedagogical, schlemiel, schism, erudite, anathema, pugilist, jaunty, paradigm, automaton and 949 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for renaissance.
rfb Michelle Obama's Secret Service code name... Nov 14, 2008