Etymologically
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epiphany

Etymology and origin of the English word epiphany

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French epiphanie via Middle English

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪˈpɪfəni/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English epiphanie,[2][3] borrowed from Old French epiphanie,[2][4][5] from Late Latin epiphania,[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia, “manifestation, striking appearance”),[2][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐπιφαίνω (epiphaínō, “to manifest, appear”),[2][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí, “on, forth”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “to show”).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The festival on 6 January commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles in the persons of the Magi (before 1310).[6][4][5]

Semantic evolution

In Greek the word was used for the appearance of a god, and in the New Testament for the coming of Christ.[4][5] In English it was applied to manifestations of other divine beings by the 1660s,[5][6] and in 1840 Thomas De Quincey used it for any revelation.[5][6][4] From this came the modern sense of a sudden, intuitive insight into the meaning of something.[2][3][7]

Timeline

  • before 1310 – the church festival of 6 January.[6][4]
  • before 1667 – the appearance of a divine or superhuman being.[6][5]
  • 1840 – any manifestation or revelation.[6][5][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A sudden realization or insight into the essential meaning of something.
  2. An appearance or manifestation, especially of a divine being.
  3. (usually capitalized) A Christian feast on 6 January celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles through the Magi.

Word family

  • epiphanic
  • epiphanous
  • phenomenon
  • fantasy
  • diaphanous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Epiphany.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/epiphany. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·