I. ə̇ˈklips, ēˈk- sometimes ˈēˌk- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin eclipsis, from Greek ekleipsis, literally, abandonment, cessation, from ekleipein to leave out, abandon, cease, from ek out of, out (from ex ) + leipein to leave — more at ex- , loan
1.
a. : the obscuration of one celestial body by another
an eclipse of the sun by the moon
: the passing into the shadow of a celestial body
an eclipse of the moon in the earth's shadow
: the cutting off of some or all of the light from one celestial body by another (as in an eclipsing variable) — compare annularity , appulse , contact , occultation , shadow transit , totality , transit
b. : the period or phase of darkness of an occulting light
2. : the act or process or an instance of falling into obscurity, disuse, or disgrace : a temporary or permanent disappearance : decline , downfall
mourned the eclipse of the hereditary upper class
the eclipse of the familiar essay will be slow — Clifton Fadiman
: a period or condition of obscurity or disgrace
returned to Versailles after a temporary eclipse at court — Evelyn G. Cruickshanks
or of decline or decay
in the seventeenth century science came out of a long eclipse — R.W.Livingstone
3. : the assuming of dull eclipse plumage after the mating season (as by the normally brilliantly colored males of certain ducks) ; also : the state of a bird in such plumage
[s]eclipse.jpg[/s] [
eclipse 1a: S sun, E earth, M moon in solar eclipse, M 1 moon in lunar eclipse
]
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English eclipsen, from eclipse, n.
transitive verb
1. : to cause the obscuration of : darken by or as if by an eclipse
the moon eclipses the sun
when the sun is artificially eclipsed in a special telescope — Hugh Odishaw
2.
a. : to reduce especially in importance or repute : cast down (as into obscurity or disgrace)
this … monocled military order was only eclipsed but never eliminated by the Versailles Treaty — G.W.Speyer
: extinguish
whose sudden death … eclipsed the gaiety of so many of his faithful readers — Times Literary Supplement
b. : to make insignificant by comparison : throw into the shade
whose history eclipses that of the English colonies as a stirring and fascinating romance — A.L.Burt
: surpass , excel
a new quarterly aluminum-production record … eclipsing the previous record — Wall Street Journal
3. : to cause eclipsis of (a sound)
intransitive verb
: to suffer an eclipse
Synonyms: see obscure