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Epiphany definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EPIPH'ANY, n. [Gr. appearance; to appear.] A christian festival celebrated on the sixth day of January, the twelfth day after Christmas, in commemoration of the appearance of our Savior to the magians or philosophers of the East, who came to adore him with presents; or as others maintain, to commemorate the appearance of the star to the magians, or the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Jerome and Chrysostom take the epiphany to be the day of our Savior's baptism, when a voice from heaven declared, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." The Greek fathers use the word for the appearance of christ in the world, the sense in which Paul used the word. 2 Tim
1:10.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -nies) Etymology: Middle English epiphanie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin epiphania, from Late Greek, plural, probably alteration of Greek epiphaneia appearance, manifestation, from epiphainein to manifest, from epi- + phainein to show — more at fancy Date: 14th century 1. capitalized January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ 2. an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being 3. a. (1) a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b. a revealing scene or moment

Britannica Concise

Christian festival celebrated on January 6. One of the oldest Christian holy days (along with Christmas and Easter), the festival originated in the Eastern church and was adopted in the Western church by the 4th cent. It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi. The eve of Epiphany, called Twelfth Night, is thought to mark the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem. Epiphany also celebrates the (much later) baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and Jesus' first miracle, performed at Cana.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 (Epiphany) a the manifestation of Christ to the Magi according to the biblical account. b the festival commemorating this on 6 January. 2 any manifestation of a god or demigod. Derivatives: epiphanic adj. Etymology: ME f. Gk epiphaneia manifestation f. epiphaino reveal (as EPI-, phaino show): sense 1 through OF epiphanie and eccl.L epiphania

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Epiphany is a Christian festival on the 6th of January which celebrates the arrival of the wise men who came to see Jesus Christ soon after he was born.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Manifestation, appearance (especially that of Christ by the star which guided the Magi to Bethlehem). 2. (Eccl.) Festival of the Epiphany, 6th of January.

Moby Thesaurus

Advent, Allhallowmas, Allhallows, Allhallowtide, Annunciation, Annunciation Day, Ascension Day, Ash Wednesday, Candlemas, Candlemas Day, Carnival, Christmas, Corpus Christi, Easter, Easter Monday, Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, Eastertide, Ember days, Good Friday, Halloween, Hallowmas, Holy Thursday, Holy Week, Lady Day, Lammas, Lammas Day, Lammastide, Lent, Lententide, Mardi Gras, Martinmas, Maundy Thursday, Michaelmas, Michaelmas Day, Michaelmastide, Palm Sunday, Pancake Day, Passion Week, Pentecost, Quadragesima, Quadragesima Sunday, Septuagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Trinity Sunday, Twelfth-day, Twelfth-tide, Whit-Tuesday, White Sunday, Whitmonday, Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whitsuntide, Whitweek

Moby Thesaurus

Christophany, Satanophany, afflatus, angelophany, apocalypse, apparition, appearance, appearing, arising, avatar, coming, coming into being, coming-forth, direct communication, discernibleness, disclosure, dissemination, divine inspiration, divine revelation, embodiment, emergence, evidence, evincement, exposure, expression, forthcoming, incarnation, indication, inspiration, issuance, manifestation, materialization, materializing, mystical experience, mysticism, observability, occurrence, opening, outcrop, outcropping, perceptibility, pneumatophany, presentation, proof, prophecy, publication, realization, revelation, rise, rising, seeableness, showing, showing forth, the seen, the visible, theophania, theophany, theopneustia, theopneusty, unfolding, unfoldment, visibility, visibleness, visuality, what is revealed