phenomenon, phenomena

phenomenon, phenomena
A phenomenon is an observed or observable fact or circumstance, especially one that seems extraordinary or impressive: "The phenomenon of a man kissing his dog rather than his wife is not readily explainable." The plural is phenomenons or, preferably, phenomena: "This ecologist never tired of studying the phenomena of nature." It is nonstandard to say phenomenas and "This phenomena is."

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • PHENOMENA — pl. of PHENOMENON. * * * plural of ↑phenomenon * * * phenomena as erron. sing. form (see phenomenon 1 β) …   Useful english dictionary

  • phenomena — See phenomenon, phenomena …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • phenomenon — See phenomenon, phenomena …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • Phenomena (song) — Phenomena is a song by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs from their Show Your Bones album. The song is built around a dance beat and the refrain:That refrain echoes previous uses, such as Liquid Liquid s Cavern , Melle Mel s White Lines (Don t Don t Do It) ,… …   Wikipedia

  • Phenomenon — Phe*nom e*non, n.; pl. {Phenomena}. [L. phaenomenon, Gr. faino menon, fr. fai nesqai to appear, fai nein to show. See {Phantom}.] 1. An appearance; anything visible; whatever, in matter or spirit, is apparent to, or is apprehended by,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Phenomena — Phenomenon Phe*nom e*non, n.; pl. {Phenomena}. [L. phaenomenon, Gr. faino menon, fr. fai nesqai to appear, fai nein to show. See {Phantom}.] 1. An appearance; anything visible; whatever, in matter or spirit, is apparent to, or is apprehended by,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • phenomenon — ► NOUN (pl. phenomena) 1) a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause is in question. 2) Philosophy the object of a person s perception. 3) a remarkable person or thing. USAGE The word phenomenon comes from …   English terms dictionary

  • phenomena — pl. of PHENOMENON (Cf. phenomenon). Sometimes also erroneously used as a singular …   Etymology dictionary

  • phenomenon — The primary meaning now is ‘an extraordinary or remarkable person or thing’ rather than ‘a fact or occurrence that is perceived’, although this meaning runs it a close second. The plural form is phenomena, which is sometimes treated erroneously… …   Modern English usage

  • phenomenon — [fə näm′ə nən, fə näm′ənän΄] n. pl. phenomena; also, esp. for PHENOMENON 3 and usually for 4, phenomenons [fə näm′ənə] [LL phaenomenon < Gr phainomenon, neut. prp. of phainesthai, to appear, akin to phainein: see FANTASY] 1. any event,… …   English World dictionary

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