theophany

the•oph•a•ny (thee-OF-uh-nee)  n

Definition:
an appearance of a god to a human; a divine manifestation

theophanic, theophanous adjective
Origin:
1625–35; from L.L. theophania, from Gk. theophaneia, from theos "god" + phainein "to show" from PIE base *bha- "to shine"

Related:
Related Words: theogony, theocracy, Theodore, fedora, theism, cellophane, phenomenon, fantasy, epiphany

Sentence Examples:
• Why this theophany, or how the gods have got out to perform their various 'stunts' on the flammantia moenia mundi, is not asked by their incurious devotees. -Letters from America, Rupert Brooke

• The theophany is clearly no rebuke to an impatient prophet, nor a lesson that the kingdom of heaven was to be built up by the slow and gentle operation of spiritual forces. It expresses the spirituality of Yahweh in a way that indicates a marked advance in the conception of his nature. -Encyclopaedia Britannica: Elijah

• The naïveté of children appeals to us because they are what we were and what we should again become. They represent an ideal, a theophany. Though we may look down upon the childish, we can only look up to the childlike. -The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller, Calvin Thomas

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

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