different between occultation vs apparition

English

Etymology

From Latin occult?ti?nem, accusative singular of occult?ti? (“concealment; insinuation”), from occult?re, present active infinitive of occult? (“to conceal, hide”); analysable as occult +? -ation.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??k?l?te??(?)n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??k?l?te??(?)n/
• Hyphenation: oc?cul?ta?tion

Noun

occultation (countable and uncountable, plural occultations)

1. (astronomy) An astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object is hidden by another celestial object that passes between it and the observer when the nearer object appears larger and completely hides the more distant object.

   Synonym: eclipse
2. The state of being occult (“hidden, undetected”).

   Synonyms: hiddenness, invisibility, occultness
3. (Shia Islam) The disappearance of the Twelfth Imam, or Mahdi, who is believed alive and present in this world, but hidden until his reappearance at the end of time.

Alternative forms

• accultation (rare)

Derived terms

• deoccultation
• lunar occultation
• nonoccultation
• preoccultation

Translations

See also

• eclipse
• syzygy

References

Further reading

• occultation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• occultation (Islam) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From Middle French apparition, from Latin apparitio, from appareo.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?æp.?????n?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?æp.????.n?/, /?æp.???.??n/

Noun

apparition (plural apparitions)

1. An act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.
   • 1856-1858, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip II

     the sudden apparition of the Spaniards
2. The thing appearing; a visible object; a form.
   • August 16, 1709, Isaac Bickerstaff (pseudonym for Richard Steele or (in some later numbers of the journal) Joseph Addison), The Tatler No. 55

     […] which apparition, it seems, was you.

3. An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; especially something such as a ghost or phantom.

   The attic is haunted by the ghostly apparition of a young girl who died there.
4. (astronomy) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; opposed to occultation.
5. (astronomy) A period of consecutive days or nights when a particular celestial body may be observed, beginning with the heliacal rising of the body and ending with its heliacal setting.

Synonyms

• (act of becoming visible): appearance
• (a preternatural appearance): vision
• See also Thesaurus:ghost

Related terms

• apparent
• appearance

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin app?riti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.pa.?i.sj??/

Noun

apparition f (plural apparitions)

1. appearance
2. ghost
3. (baseball) plate appearance

Synonyms

• (ghost): fantôme
• (plate appearance): apparition au bâton, présence, présence au bâton

Derived terms

• faire son apparition

Further reading

• “apparition” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).