 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Phenomenon \Phe*nom"e*non\, noun; pl. {Phenomena}. [L. phaenomenon, Gr. faino'menon, fr. fai'nesqai to appear, fai'nein to show. See {Phantom}.]
1. An appearance; anything visible; whatever, in matter or spirit, is apparent to, or is apprehended by, observation; as, the phenomena of heat, light, or electricity; phenomena of imagination or memory.
In the phenomena of the material world, and in many of the phenomena of mind. --Stewart.
2. That which strikes one as strange, unusual, or unaccountable; an extraordinary or very remarkable person, thing, or occurrence; as, a musical phenomenon.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
phenomenon
noun
1: any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
2: a remarkable development [also: {phenomena} (pl)]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
phenomena See {phenomenon}
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |