/ɪˈpɪfəni/·noun·c. 1310 (religious feast); 1904 (secular 'moment of insight', Joyce)·Established
Origin
From Greek 'epipháneia' (manifestation), from epí (upon) + phaínein (to show), from PIE *bʰeh₂- (to shine). Originally a Greek term for gods revealing themselves to mortals, adopted by Christians for the feast of Christ's manifestation to the Magi (January 6). James Joyce secularized it c. 1904 into its modern meaning: a sudden flash of insight. Cousin of phenomenon, phantom, fantasy, and phase.
Definition
A moment of sudden and great revelation or realization; also (capitalized) the Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of Christ to the Magi, observed on January 6.
The Full Story
Greek (via Latin and Old French)14th centurywell-attested
From Greek 'epipháneia' (ἐπιφάνεια), meaning 'manifestation, appearance, striking display', from the verb 'epiphaínein' (ἐπιφαίνειν, 'to manifest, to display'), composed of 'epí' (ἐπί, 'upon, to') + 'phaínein' (φαίνειν, 'to show, to bring to light'). Greek phaínein derives from PIE *bʰeh₂- ('to shine, to appear'), one of the most productive roots in European vocabulary — the same source as English 'phenomenon', 'phantom', 'fantasy', 'phase', 'phosphorus', 'diaphanous', and 'fancy'. The word entered Greek religious vocabulary as a title for gods
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James Joyce single-handedly secularized this word. In an unpublished essay (c. 1904) and in his novel Stephen Hero, Joyce defined an epiphany as 'a sudden spiritual manifestation' in which the essential nature of an object or moment reveals itself — a girl wading at the beach, a snatch of overheard conversation, a clock's chime. He collected these moments in a notebook he literally titled 'Epiphanies.' Before Joyce, the word was almost exclusively religious. After Joyce, it became the standard English word for any sudden flash of insight. The irony: Joyce, a lapsed Catholic, took a word for God
it around 1310 in the liturgical sense. The lowercase secular meaning — a sudden flash of insight — was popularized by James Joyce in his critical writings (c. 1904), where he used 'epiphany' for moments when the essential nature of a thing suddenly reveals itself. Joyce's usage transformed a theological term into one of the most common words in literary criticism and everyday English. Key roots: ἐπί (epí) (Ancient Greek: "upon, to, toward"), φαίνειν (phaínein) (Ancient Greek: "to show, to bring to light, to cause to appear"), *bʰeh₂- (Proto-Indo-European: "to shine, to appear").