eclipse English · revision 39499

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300, South English Legendary|origins=ine-pro *leykʷ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ɪˈklɪps/, /iˈklɪps/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|eclipse]] (also [[m|enm|clips]]),^(MED)^(Skeat 1911)^(Dictionary.com 2016) [[bor|fro|eclipse]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) a learned borrowing^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|eclīpsis]], from [[grc|ἔκλειψις|tr=ékleipsis|t=a failing, a forsaking; an eclipse]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024) from [[m|grc|ἐκλείπω|tr=ekleípō|t=to forsake its usual place, fail to appear]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026) formed from [[m|grc|ἐκ|tr=ek|t=out]] and [[m|grc|λείπω|tr=leípō|t=to leave]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*leykʷ-|t=to leave]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Klein relates the Greek verb to [[la|linquō|t=to leave]].^(Klein 1966) The noun is recorded in Anglo-Norman from the early 12th century.^(AND) The verb was formed from the noun in English,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) though Etymonline and the Oxford Dictionary of English derive it from [[m|fro|eclipser]].^(Etymonline)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The darkening of the sun or moon by another body: about 1300, in the ''South English Legendary'', where learned men cannot explain an eclipse.^(MED) Barnhart dates both noun and verb to about 1280,^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED's first quotation is Chaucer's translation of Boethius, about 1374.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, a loss of brilliance or standing, appears about 1385 according to Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and in 1598 in the OED.^(OED 2026) In Middle English the verb was also intransitive, "to suffer an eclipse", a use that ended in 1667.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Its figurative transitive use, to overshadow or obscure, is dated before 1387 by Barnhart, to the 1570s by Etymonline and to 1581 by the OED,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) and by 1718 it meant to outshine or surpass.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) remarked that the word originally signified a departure from one's place, to which Milton alludes.^(Johnson 1755) Weekley recalls Johnson's line on Garrick, whose death "eclipsed the gaiety of nations".^(Weekley 1921) Later technical senses include the intermittent darkening of a lighthouse's light^(OED 2026) and, in Irish and Gaelic grammar from 1602, the change of an initial consonant.^(OED 2026) Chaucer and Gower each use the noun twice.^(GCME)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 12th century – Anglo-Norman ''eclipse''.^(AND)

+ * c. 1280 – noun and verb, in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – the noun (''South English Legendary'').^(MED)

+ * c. 1374 – the noun in Chaucer.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1385 – figurative, loss of brilliance (Barnhart);^(Barnhart 1988) 1598 (OED).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1393 – intransitive verb, to be eclipsed (Gower; until 1667).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1581 – to overshadow, obscure.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1718 – to outshine, surpass.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The hiding of the light of a [[celestial body]] by another one passing in front of it, or by its passing into another's [[shadow]], as when the moon blocks the sun.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Any dimming or cutting off of light.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A loss of fame, power or importance: ''a party in eclipse after its defeat''.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cause an eclipse of; to block the light of.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To make someone or something seem less important by comparison; [[outshine]] or [[surpass]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[eclipser]]

+ * [[uneclipsed]]

+ * [[annular eclipse]]

+ * [[lunar eclipse]]

+ * [[solar eclipse]]

+ * [[eclipse plumage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ecliptic]]

+ * [[ellipsis]]

+ * [[relinquish]]

+ * [[delinquent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}