Wiktionary

Epiphany

See also: epiphany

English

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WOTD – 6 January 2023

Etymology

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PIE word
*h₁epi
 
Edward Burne-Jones, The Star of Bethlehem (completed 1890),[n 1] which depicts the Epiphany (sense 1) – the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Magi.

See epiphany.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Epiphany (countable and uncountable, plural Epiphanies) (Christianity)

  1. A manifestation of the divinity of Jesus Christ, especially to the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12), but also at his baptism and the Wedding at Cana.
    • 1998, Maurice B. McNamee, Vested Angels: Eucharistic Allusions in Early Netherlandish Paintings, Peeters Publishers, →ISBN, page 167:
      That was also the reason why the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the three epiphanies of Christ's divinity, His Baptism, the Miracle of Cana, and the Visit of the Magi, was one of the most favorite feasts in the Eastern Church […]
  2. An annual Christian feast celebrating these events, usually on January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas.
    Synonyms: Three Kings' Day, Twelfth Day, (one sense) Twelfthtide, (one sense) Twelvetide, (Eastern Christianity) Theophany
    • 1878, Haskett Smith, The divine Epiphany, page 9:
      On the Festival of the Epiphany, and on the six Sundays called after its name, we have distinct pictures held up to our view connected with the life of Jesus of Nazareth […]
    • 1998, Maurice B. McNamee, Vested Angels: Eucharistic Allusions in Early Netherlandish Paintings, Peeters Publishers, →ISBN, page 167:
      That was also the reason why the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the three epiphanies of Christ's divinity, His Baptism, the Miracle of Cana, and the Visit of the Magi, was one of the most favorite feasts in the Eastern Church […]
    • 2003 11, Rock DiLisio, Three Kings of Casablanca: The Trek to Treasure, iUniverse, →ISBN:
      The Epiphany, also known as the Feast of the Three Kings, Feast of Lights and Little Christmas, is known to have been observed earlier than 194 A.D. […]
  3. The day of the celebration, January 6, or sometimes (in Western Christianity), the Sunday between January 2 and 8.
  4. The season or time of the Christian church year, either from the Epiphany feast day to Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent), or from the Epiphany feast day to the feast of Candlemas (marking the presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple in Jerusalem).

Proper noun

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Epiphany

  1. A female given name.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ From the collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.

Further reading

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