— epiphanic /ep'euh fan"ik/ , epiphanous , adj.
/i pif"euh nee/ , n. , pl. epiphanies .
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.
[ 1275-1325; ME epiphanie epiphania epipháneia, Gk: apparition, equiv. to epi- EPI- + phan- (s. of phaínein to appear) + -eia -Y 3 ]