phenomenon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fəˈnɒm.ɪ.nən/, /fɪ-/ (UK); /fəˈnɑ.məˌnɑn/, /-nən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin phaenomenon,^[2][3][4] from Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon, “that which appears”), the neuter present participle of φαίνομαι (phaínesthai, “to appear”),^[3][2] passive of phaínein, to show (see fantasy),^[3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *bha- (“to shine”).^[3] The plural is phenomena.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fact or thing perceived, an occurrence: 1583 in MWU, the 1570s in Etymonline;^[4][3] 1625, in Bacon's Essays, in Barnhart.^[2]

Semantic evolution

To save the phenomena, translating Greek, is from 1625.^[7] An extraordinary occurrence or prodigy is first recorded in the Junius Letters (1771).^[2][7] In philosophy, an immediate object of experience, it is from 1788.^[7][3] The adjective phenomenal is from 1825, in Coleridge, and remarkable from 1850.^[2]

Timeline

• 1583 – a thing perceived.^[4]
• 1625 – save the phenomena.^[7]
• 1771 – an extraordinary occurrence.^[2]
• 1788 – in philosophy.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A fact or occurrence that can be perceived by the senses.
2. An unusual or remarkable fact or event; a marvel.
3. A remarkable person.
4. (philosophy) That which appears real to the senses, as opposed to the thing in itself.

Word family

• epiphenomenon
• phenom
• phenomenal
• phenomenalism
• phenomenology
• phi phenomenon
• Raynaud's phenomenon

Related words

• -phane
• phene
• pheno-
• phenotype
• fantasy
• phantom
• phase
• emphasis

Usage notes

The plural is phenomena for the senses of fact and occurrence, while phenomenons is used of remarkable people.^[8] SOED notes the non-standard use of phenomena as a singular.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press