apparition : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: apparition	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for apparition
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
apparition n a ghostly appearing figure; "we were unprepared for the apparition that confronted us" Synonym(s): apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, specter, spectre the appearance of a ghostlike figure; "I was recalled to the present by the apparition of a frightening specter" something existing in perception only; "a ghostly apparition at midnight" Synonym(s): apparition, phantom, phantasm, phantasma, fantasm, shadow an act of appearing or becoming visible unexpectedly; "natives were amazed at the apparition of this white stranger"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Apparition \Ap`pari"tion\, n. [F. apparition, L. apparitio, fr. apparere. See {Appear}.] 1. The act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility. --Milton. The sudden apparition* of the Spaniards. --Prescott. The apparition of Lawyer Clippurse occasioned much speculation in that portion of the world. --Sir W. Scott. 2. The thing appearing; a visible object; a form. Which apparition, it seems, was you. --Tatler. 3. An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; a ghost; a specter; a phantom. [bd]The heavenly bands . . . a glorious apparition.[b8] --Milton. I think it is the weakness of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous apparition. --Shak. 4. (Astron.) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; -- opposed to {occultation}. {Circle of perpetual apparition}. See under {Circle}.