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eclipse
11 dictionary results for: eclipse
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
e·clipse 
[i-klips] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, e·clipsed, e·clips·ing.
[i-klips] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, e·clipsed, e·clips·ing. –noun
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | Astronomy.
|
| 2. | any obscuration of light. |
| 3. | a reduction or loss of splendor, status, reputation, etc.: Scandal caused the eclipse of his career. |
| 4. | to cause to undergo eclipse: The moon eclipsed the sun. |
| 5. | to make less outstanding or important by comparison; surpass: a soprano whose singing eclipsed that of her rivals. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
e·clipse
(ĭ-klĭps') Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) n.
tr.v. e·clipsed, e·clips·ing, e·clips·es
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin eclīpsis, from Greek ekleipsis, from ekleipein, to fail to appear, suffer an eclipse : ek-, out; see ecto- + leipein, to leave; see leikw- in Indo-European roots.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
eclipse
eclipse
c.1280, from O.Fr. eclipse, from L. eclipsis, from Gk. ekleipsis "a leaving out, forsaking, an eclipse," from ekleipein "to forsake a usual place, fail to appear, be eclipsed," from ek "out" + leipein "to leave" (cognate with L. linquere; see relinquish). The celestial ecliptic (c.1391) is the circle in the sky followed by the Sun, so called because eclipses happen only when the Moon is near the line.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| eclipse | |
noun | |
| 1. | one celestial body obscures another |
verb | |
| 1. | be greater in significance than; "the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness" [syn: overshadow] |
| 2. | cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention; "The Sun eclipses the moon today"; "Planets and stars often are occulted by other celestial bodies" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
eclipse
(ĭ-klĭps') Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window)
The partial or total blocking of light of one celestial object by another. An eclipse of the Sun or Moon occurs when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned. In a solar eclipse the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth. During a total solar eclipse the disk of the Moon fully covers that of the Sun, and only the Sun's corona is visible. An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is farthest in its orbit from the Earth so that its disk does not fully cover that of the Sun, and part of the Sun's photosphere is visible as a ring around the Moon. In a lunar eclipse all or a part of the Moon's disk enters the umbra of the Earth's shadow and is no longer illuminated by the Sun. Lunar eclipses occur only during a full moon, when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun.
Our Living Language : The Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon and 400 times farther from Earth, causing the two to appear to be almost exactly the same size in our sky. This relationship is also responsible for the phenomenon of the total solar eclipse, an eclipse of the Sun in which the disk of the Moon fully covers that of the Sun, blocking the Sun's light and causing the Moon's shadow to fall across the Earth. A total solar eclipse can be viewed only from a very narrow area on Earth, or zone of totality, where the dark central shadow of the Moon, or umbra, falls. From this perspective one can view the Sun's delicate corona—tendrils of charged gases that surround the Sun but are invisible to the unaided eye in normal daylight. This is also the only time when stars are visible in the day sky. Those viewing the eclipse from where the edges of the Moon's shadow, or penumbra, fall to Earth will see only a partial solar eclipse. The orbits of the Earth around the Sun and of the Moon around the Earth are not perfect circles, causing slight variations in how large the Sun and Moon appear to us and in the length of solar eclipses. The maximum duration of a total solar eclipse when the Earth is farthest from the Sun and the Moon is closest to the Earth is seven and a half minutes. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
eclipse
eclipse
In astronomy, the blocking out of light from one object by the intervention of another object. The most dramatic eclipses visible from the Earth are eclipses of the sun (when sunlight is blocked by the moon) and eclipses of the moon (when sunlight on its way to the moon is blocked by the Earth).
Note: The term eclipse is also used to refer to a general decline or temporary obscurity: “After taking the title last year, the team has gone into an eclipse this season.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Eclipse
E*clipse"\, n. [F. ['e]clipse, L. eclipsis, fr. Gr. ?, prop., a forsaking, failing, fr. ? to leave out, forsake; ? out + ? to leave. See Ex-, and Loan.]1. (Astron.) An interception or obscuration of the light of the sun, moon, or other luminous body, by the intervention of some other body, either between it and the eye, or between the luminous body and that illuminated by it. A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon passing through the earth's shadow; a solar eclipse, by the moon coming between the sun and the observer. A satellite is eclipsed by entering the shadow of its primary. The obscuration of a planet or star by the moon or a planet, though of the nature of an eclipse, is called an occultation. The eclipse of a small portion of the sun by Mercury or Venus is called a transit of the planet. Note: In ancient times, eclipses were, and among unenlightened people they still are, superstitiously regarded as forerunners of evil fortune, a sentiment of which occasional use is made in literature. That fatal and perfidious bark, Built in the eclipse, and rigged with curses dark. --Milton. 2. The loss, usually temporary or partial, of light, brilliancy, luster, honor, consciousness, etc.; obscuration; gloom; darkness. All the posterity of our fist parents suffered a perpetual eclipse of spiritual life. --Sir W. Raleigh. As in the soft and sweet eclipse, When soul meets soul on lovers' lips. --Shelley. Annular eclipse. (Astron.) See under Annular. Cycle of eclipses. See under Cycle.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Eclipse
E*clipse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eclipsed; p. pr. & vb. n. Eclipsing.]1. To cause the obscuration of; to darken or hide; -- said of a heavenly body; as, the moon eclipses the sun. 2. To obscure, darken, or extinguish the beauty, luster, honor, etc., of; to sully; to cloud; to throw into the shade by surpassing. "His eclipsed state." --Dryden. My joy of liberty is half eclipsed. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Eclipse
E*clipse"\, v. i. To suffer an eclipse. While the laboring moon Eclipses at their charms. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Eclipse
of the sun alluded to in Amos 8:9; Micah 3:6; Zech. 14:6; Joel 2:10. Eclipses were regarded as tokens of God's anger (Joel 3:15; Job 9:7). The darkness at the crucifixion has been ascribed to an eclipse (Matt. 27:45); but on the other hand it is argued that the great intensity of darkness caused by an eclipse never lasts for more than six minutes, and this darkness lasted for three hours. Moreover, at the time of the Passover the moon was full, and therefore there could not be an eclipse of the sun, which is caused by an interposition of the moon between the sun and the earth.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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