From Greek 'ekleipsis' (abandonment) — the Greeks saw an eclipse as the Sun or Moon abandoning its place in the sky.
The total or partial obscuring of one celestial body by another, especially of the Sun by the Moon (solar eclipse) or the Moon by the Earth's shadow (lunar eclipse); figuratively, a loss of significance or power.
From Old French 'eclipse,' from Latin 'eclīpsis,' from Greek 'ekleipsis' (an eclipse, a forsaking, an abandonment), from 'ekleipein' (to forsake, to leave out, to fail to appear), a compound of 'ek-' (out) and 'leipein' (to leave). The Greeks conceived an eclipse as the Sun or Moon 'abandoning' its place in the sky — failing to appear, leaving its post. The word thus carries an emotional charge that a purely technical description would lack: an eclipse was an act of cosmic desertion
The Greek root 'leipein' (to leave) connects 'eclipse' to 'ellipsis' (something left out — the dots '...' that mark omitted words). The same root also gives us 'delinquent' (one who leaves their duty) and 'relic' (something left behind). An eclipse, an ellipsis, a delinquent, and a relic are all, etymologically, things that have