Dictionary
e•piph•a•ny
Pronunciation: (i-pif'u-nē), [key]—
n.,
—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.