epiphany: Meaning and Definition of

e•piph•a•ny

Pronunciation: (i-pif'u-nē), [key]
— pl. -nies.
  1. (cap.) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.
  2. an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
  3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
  4. a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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