Etymologically
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epiphania

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Forms

epiphanīa n pl (genitive epiphanīōrum); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia, “appearance, manifestation”),[1][2][3] from ἐπιφαίνω (epiphaínō, “to show forth, appear”).[3] The festival name was originally a neuter plural, ἐπιφάνια (epipháneia), and was later taken as a feminine singular.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ammianus Marcellinus mentions the feast of the Epiphany.[2][6] Köbler dates Ammianus c. 390 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

It was the feast of the manifestation of Christ, the Epiphany, in Ammianus Marcellinus, the Theodosian Code and Jerome, who speaks of the day of the Epiphany.[2][7][6] Isidore says the Greek word is apparitiō “appearance” in Latin.[8]

In medieval Latin it was the manifestation of Christ and the feast of the Adoration of the Magi.[9] British writers also used it of an appearance and in geometry of a plane surface.[10] Its descendants include Italian befana.[1] English epiphany is recorded in the early 14th century as the feast.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome speaks of the day of the Epiphany.[2][3]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus mentions the feast.[2][3]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore explains its name.[8][3]
  • early 14th century – English epiphany is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Epiphany, feast of the manifestation of Christ.[7][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) An appearance, manifestation.[9][10]

Usage notes

A separate feminine epiphanīa meant “surface”, a Latin rendering of the same Greek word, in Favonius Eulogius.[2][6] Epiphanīa was also the name of cities in Cilicia and Syria.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press