Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Epiphany"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Epiphany \E*piph"a*ny\, n. [F. ['e]piphanie, L. epiphania, Gr.
'epifa`nia (sc. ?), for 'epifa`neia appearance, fr.
'epifai`nein to show forth; 'epi` + fai`nein to show. See
{Fancy}.]
1. An appearance, or a becoming manifest.
Whom but just before they beheld transfigured and in
a glorious epiphany upon the mount. --Jer. Taylor.
An epic poet, if ever such a difficult birth should
make its epiphany in Paris. --De Quincey.
2. (Eccl.) A church festival celebrated on the 6th of
January, the twelfth day after Christmas, in commemoration
of the visit of the Magi of the East to Bethlehem, to see
and worship the child Jesus; or, as others maintain, to
commemorate the appearance of the star to the Magi,
symbolizing the manifestation of Christ to the Gentles;
Twelfthtide.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
epiphany
n 1: a divine manifestation
2: twelve days after Christmas; celebrates the visit of the
three wise men to the infant Jesus [syn: {Epiphany}, {Epiphany
of Our Lord}, {Twelfth day}, {Three Kings' Day}, {January
6}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.