I. |renə|sän(t)s also -|zä- sometimes -äⁿs or -äⁿn(t)s, chiefly Brit rə̇ˈnās ə n- noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, from Middle French, rebirth, from renais- (stem of renaistre to be born again, from Latin renasci, from re- + nasci to be born) + -ance — more at nation
1. often capitalized
a. : enthusiastic and vigorous activity along literary, artistic, and cultural lines distinguished by a revival of interest in the past, by an increasing pursuit of learning, and by an imaginative response to broader horizons generally
conceptions of the nature of the Renaissance — W.K.Ferguson
the transcendental movement that marked the full flowering of the New England renaissance — V.L.Parrington
b. : the period of such a revival
the Renaissance of the eighth and ninth centuries — Kemp Malone
that second Renaissance, the Victorian Age — Edwin Benson
the period conventionally known as the Renaissance — David Daiches
2. usually capitalized : the neoclassic style of art prevailing during the Renaissance period
3. : a return of youthful vigor, freshness, zest, or productivity : a renewal of life or interest in some aspect of it : rebirth
a postwar renaissance — Granville Hicks
grand opera … is currently enjoying a renaissance — Joseph Wechsberg
the biggest tennis renaissance ever known in this country — Holiday
II. adjective
1. : of or relating to a renaissance
2. usually capitalized : of, relating to, or typical or suggestive of the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science
Renaissance painting
the Renaissance ideal of the universal man — Horizon