Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Phenomenon |
PhenomenonNoun1. Any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning. 2. A remarkable development. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "phenomenon" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
Etymology: Phenomenon \Phe*nom"e*non\, noun; plural Phenomena. [Latin expression phaenomenon, Greek faino`menon, from fai`nesqai to appear, fai`nein to show. See Phantom.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Phenomenon (plural, phenomena) means simply what has appeared (Greek, phainomai, to appear). It is used in science to express the visible result of an experiment. In popular language it means a prodigy. (Greek, phainomenon.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: Datum, Phenomenon. Datum, erratum, candelabrum, and memorandum form their plurals by changing um to a; as, data, errata, etc. The last two also take the English plurals, memorandums, candelabrums. The plural of phenomenon and criterion are phenomena, criteria, although criterions is sometimes employed. The plural forms, data, strata, and phenomena, are so much more frequently used than their singular forms, datum, stratum, and phenomenon, that some writers have slipped into the habit of using the plurals with a singular meaning; as, "The aurora borealis is a very strange phenomena." "Our data is insufficient to establish a theory." "The strata is broken and irregular." Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Electrical phenomena are commonplace and unusual events that can be observed which illuminate the principles of the physics of electricity and are explained by them. Electrical phenomena are a somewhat arbitrary division of electromagnetic phenomena.Some examples are:
- Electroluminescence
- Electrical conduction
- Elves [1]
- Ferroelectric effect
- Photoconductivity
- Piezoelectric effect
- Galvanic current generated by two different metals in contact
- Pyroelectric effect
- Sprites [1]
- Static electricity static cling, sparks and lightning
- Triboelectric effect (materials which develop a charge when rubbed)
- Whistlers (radio waves produced by lightning [1])
External Links
- A beginner's Guide to Natural VLF Radio Phenomena
- Altair's site on Natural Radio Signals
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Examples of electrical phenomena."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A phenomenon (plural "phenomena") is an observable event, especially something special.
Kant's use of phenomenon
Phenomenon has a specialized meaning in the philosophy of Immanuel Kant who opposed the term 'Phenomenon' to 'Noumenon'. Phenomena constitute the world as we experience it, as opposed to the world as it exists independently of our experiences (thing-in-themselves, 'das ding an sich'). Humans cannot, according to Kant, know things-in-themselves, only things as we experience them. Thus philosophy should concern itself with understanding the process of experience itself.
The concept of 'Phenomena' led to a tradition of philosophy known as Phenomenology. Leading figures in this tradition include Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger and Derrida.
Kant's account of phenomena has also been understood as influential in the development of psychodynamic models of Psychology, and of theories concerning the ways in which the brain, mind and external world interact.
Phenomenon in the general sense
In general, apart from its specialized use as a term in philosophy, phenomenon stands for any observable event. Phenomena make up the raw data of science. Phenomena are often exploited by technology.
It is possible to list the phenomena which are relevant to almost any field of endeavor, for example, in the case of optics and light one can list observable phenomena under the topic optical phenomenon.
The possibilities are many, for example:
Some observable events are commonplace, some require delicate manipulation of expensive and sensitive equipment. Some are significant experiments which led to groundbreaking discoveries.
- Biological phenomenon (biology)
- Chemical phenomenon (chemistry)
- Electrical phenomenon (electricity)
- Geological phenomenon (geology)
- Hydrological phenomenon (hydrology)
- Meteorological phenomenon (weather)
- Optical phenomenon (optics)
- Physical phenomenon (physics)
- Statistical phenomena (statistics)
- Thermal phenomenon (thermodynamics)
There is a class of phenomena which lie outside generally accepted knowledge which knowledgeable scientists tend to discount. They are collected and discussed under the topic anomalous phenomenon
Quotes
- "no phenomenon is a phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon" Niels Bohr.
- "Scientific theory is a contrived foothold in the chaos of living phenomena." - Wilhelm Reich
Phenomenon is a name of an album by a rock band called UFO.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Phenomenon."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
- Band: UFO
- CD: Phenomenon
- Parental Advisory: No
- In-Print: Yes
- Released Date: May 14, 1974
- Number Of Discs: 1
- Genre: Rock and Roll and Heavy Metal music
Tracks
- Oh My
- Crystal Light
- Doctor Doctor
- Space Child
- Rock Bottom
- Too Young To No
- A Time On My Hands
- Built For Comfort
- Lipstick Traces
- Queen Of The Deep
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Phenomenon (UFO album)."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Eventuality | Noun: eventuality, event, occurrence, incident, affair, matter, thing, episode, happening, proceeding, contingency, juncture, experience, fact; matter of fact; naked fact, bare facts, just the facts; phenomenon; advent. |
Extrinsicality | Noun: extrinsicality, objectiveness, non ego; extraneousness; accident; appearance, phenomenon. |
Prodigy | Noun: prodigy, phenomenon; wonder, wonderment; marvel, miracle; monster; (unconformity); curiosity, lion, sight, spectacle; jeu de theatre, coup de theatre; gazingstock; sign; St. Elmo's fire, St. Elmo's light; portent. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Phenomenon |
| English words defined with "phenomenon": atmospheric phenomenon ♦ chemical phenomenon ♦ electrical phenomenon ♦ geological phenomenon ♦ mechanical phenomenon ♦ optical phenomenon, organic phenomenon ♦ physical phenomenon. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "phenomenon": breakaway phenomenon. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "phenomenon": Epipolized. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Phenomenon" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses. Manx (phenomenon ). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | 2,3,5,and 7 those are all prime numbers. There is no way this is a natural phenomenon! (Contact; writing credit: Carl Sagan;) Well, uh, as a matter of fact, or own Ken Mattingly has done some research on that particular phenomenon. Ken (Apollo 13; writing credit: Jim Lovell; Jeffrey Kluger) He's an American phenomenon. (Crimes and Misdemeanors; writing credit: Woody Allen) Judgment of any system, or a priori relationship or phenomenon exists in an irrational, or metaphysical, or at least epistemological contradiction to an abstract empirical concept such as being, or to be, or to occur in the thing itself, or of the thing itself (Love and Death; writing credit: Woody Allen) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Phenomenon (2002) The Outer Limits Phenomenon (1996) Unnatural Phenomenon 2 (1986) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References | |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Each of these swirling clouds is a result of a meteorological phenomenon known as a Karman vortex. These vortices appeared over Alexander Selkirk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rising precipitously from the surrounding waters, the island's highest point is nearly a mile (1.6 km) above sea level. As wind-driven clouds encounter this obstacle, they flow around it to form these large, spinning eddies. Credit: NASA. |  | Normally an oceanographic phenomenon known as upwelling keeps the surface waters of the southeast Pacific Ocean cold and teeming with small pelagics that are fished by purse seiners. Upwelling occurs in this zone when southeasterly trade winds , produced by the South Pacific anti-cyclone, along with other facto rs drive coastal waters out to sea, forcing deep nutrient-rich waters to rise. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Acrylic painting of a spectacled eider flying over an Arctic seascape by Joseph Hautman, 410 Sycamore Circle, Plymouth, MN 55441. Hautman's design was one of 585 entered in the 1991 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. He studied art and physics at the University of Minnesota where he received a degree in physics and later received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan. His published work has contributed to the understanding of a broad range of phenomenon -- from the shapes of water droplets and snow flakes to the miscroscopic structures of soap bubbles and cell membranes. Return to the Federal Duck Stamp Office Home Page. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Working!!!" by Tina Lorien Commentary: "Skorstensfejer - I dont know what u call these guys in english - but it is a very danish phenomenon - they clean the chimneys - & HC. Andersen wrote a famous fairytail about one!!! ;-)." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Thomas Carlyle | In every phenomenon the beginning remains always the most notable moment. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno Concluded | Carroll, Lewis | And I think you named Ghosts as an instance of a provable phenomenon. |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | As Scrooge looked fixedly at this phenomenon, it was a knocker again |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | A phenomenon often seen |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | His soul was still disquieted and cast down by the dull phenomenon of Dublin |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | This phenomenon is known as plasticity. (references) | |
Injuries may also cause Raynaud's phenomenon. (references) | ||
Some drugs may also cause this form of Raynaud's phenomenon. (references) | ||
Business | This is justified by the "outlier" phenomenon that plagues such analysis. (references) | |
A new phenomenon resulting from rapid urbanization is the “satellite town” concept. (references) | ||
The national fascination of a holiday home on a lake (summer cottage) is a cultural phenomenon. (references) | ||
Children | Cuba | However, the phenomenon continued as more cabarets and discos open for the growing tourist industry, which made it easier for tourists to come into contact with child prostitutes. (references) |
Venezuela | The authorities in Caracas and several other jurisdictions tried to cope with the phenomenon of street children by continuing to impose curfews for unsupervised minors. (references) | |
Greece | Child prostitution is a growing phenomenon, particularly in some parts of immigrant communities of central Athens. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Colombia | He noted that in the first 8 months of the year there was a progressive increase in the numbers, geographical extension, and political complexities of the displacement phenomenon. (references) |
France | Although the Government instructed the MILS to analyze "the phenomenon of cults," its decree did not define the term cult or distinguish cults from religions. (references) | |
Economic History | Brazil | Regulatory agencies for sectors such as telecommunications, energy and transportation are a relatively new phenomenon in Brazil. (references) |
Human Rights | Indonesia | Kidnaping of children for ransom is a recent and reportedly growing phenomenon. (references) |
Political Economy | PORTUGAL | To fight this phenomenon, the Government of Portugal has begun a program of unannounced inspections involving representatives of the Inspectorate General of Labor, the Social Security Inspection Services, and a representative of the court. (references) |
Kazakhstan | Political parties other than the opposition Communists are a relatively new phenomenon. (references) | |
Trade | Sweden | Large-scale parallel imports are a fairly recent phenomenon in Sweden. (references) |
Travel | Ecuador | Many roads and bridges that were damaged during the 1997-1998 El Nino weather phenomenon remain unrepaired, causing delays and detours. (references) |
Women | India | Although most dowry deaths involve lower and middle-class families, the phenomenon crosses both caste and religious lines. (references) |
Worker Rights | China | This and the fact that the commission's formation and mandate were publicly announced represented an apparent shift from the Government's previous reluctance to publicly discuss child labor or to engage in officially acknowledged study of the phenomenon. (references) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Nevertheless public awareness of the problem is low, and trafficking is tolerated, if not accepted, at all levels of society and is regarded as a "victimless crime" or as a phenomenon that only effects foreign nationals. (references) | |
Poland | The country's relatively strong economic growth and its status as an EU candidate country mainly are responsible for this phenomenon. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | HALO, n. Properly, a luminous ring encircling an astronomical body, but not infrequently confounded with "aureola," or "nimbus," a somewhat similar phenomenon worn as a head-dress by divinities and saints. The halo is a purely optical illusion, produced by moisture in the air, in the manner of a rainbow; but the aureola is conferred as a sign of superior sanctity, in the same way as a bishop's mitre, or the Pope's tiara. In the painting of the Nativity, by Szedgkin, a pious artist of Pesth, not only do the Virgin and the Child wear the nimbus, but an ass nibbling hay from the sacred manger is similarly decorated and, to his lasting honor be it said, appears to bear his unaccustomed dignity with a truly saintly grace. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Rush Limbaugh | I've told you many times that more oil seeps up from the ocean floor than we could ever spill, and here we hear about it as a natural phenomenon. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Phenomenon" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.86% of the time. "Phenomenon" is used about 2,184 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.86% | 2,181 | 4,019 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.14% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 2,184 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "phenomenon": Aschner phenomenon ♦ Aschner's phenomenon ♦ atmospheric phenomenon ♦ Bell phenomenon ♦ Bell's phenomenon ♦ celestial phenomenon ♦ chemical phenomenon ♦ cogwheel phenomenon ♦ doll's head phenomenon ♦ electrical phenomenon ♦ Fere phenomenon ♦ Ferranti phenomenon ♦ geological phenomenon ♦ infant phenomenon ♦ interference phenomenon ♦ mechanical phenomenon ♦ natural phenomenon ♦ optical phenomenon ♦ organic phenomenon ♦ physical phenomenon ♦ psychic phenomenon ♦ Purkinje phenomenon ♦ Raynaud's phenomenon ♦ Shwartzman Phenomenon ♦ Tarchanoff phenomenon ♦ yaw phenomenon. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "phenomenon": tv-phenomenon. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "phenomenon"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | fenomen (phenomenal person). (various references) | |
Arabic | واقعة غريبة, حدث (befall, calamity, come, come about, come by, come off, disaster, episode, event, fall out, flow, go, happen, happening, incident, juvenile, occasion, occur, pass, place, rise, take place, transpire, work, young, youngish, youngling, youngster), ظاهرة (original sin). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | субективно явление, явление (appearance, occurrence), феномен (apparition, prodigy), гений (daemon, genius), изключително същество, изключително явление, изключителен предмет, извънредно надарен човек. (various references) | |
Chinese | 现象 (Phenomena, Phenomenal), 現象 (appearance). (various references) | |
Czech | jev, fenomén, úkaz (phenomena). (various references) | |
Danish | fænomen. (various references) | |
Dutch | fenomeen. (various references) | |
Esperanto | fenomeno. (various references) | |
Faeroese | fyribrigdi. (various references) | |
Farsi | پدیده , نمود (Appearance, Aspect, Growth), حادثه (Accidence, Accident, Adventure, Fortuity, Incident), تجلی (Expression, Influence), عارضه , اثرطبیعی . (various references) | |
Finnish | ilmiö (phenom|enon). (various references) | |
French | phénomène. (various references) | |
German | Phänomen (syndrome), Erscheinung (apparition, appearance, aspect, emergence, figure, guise, manifestation, occurance, parameterization, phantom, sign, symptom, vision, visitation). (various references) | |
Greek | φαινόμενο (phenomenon phenomena). (various references) | |
Hawaiian | fenomen. (various references) | |
Hebrew | תופעה (appearance, effect, manifestation, occurrence), פנומן, חזיון (drama, revelation, sight, spectacle, vision, visualization), הופעה (advent, appearance, arrival, bearing, coming, emergence, presence, showing). (various references) | |
Hungarian | jelenség (occurrence, phenomena, shape, symptom). (various references) | |
Indonesian | perwujudan (manifestation), gejala (auspice, symptom, tendency), fenomena. (various references) | |
Italian | fenomeno (apparition, appearance, emergence, freak, occurance, wonder). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 象 (elephant), 現象 , 現象 , 事象 (matter), 事相 (aspect, phase), フェノール類 (10^-15, Fabianism, feminine, feminine look, feminism, feminist, femto-, Ferrari, gentleman, man who indulges women, phenol), 仮相 (appearance). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | フェノメノン , しょう (actor, artisan, award, bruise, buy, call, carpenter, catch, chapter, commander, cut, destroy, drink, eat, gash, general, government, hurt, idea, illness, important point, injury, label, leader, make up for, means, mechanic, medal, prize, put on, quotient, ride in, scar, scratch, section, send for, take, to be burdened with, to carry on back or shoulder, upper part, weak point, wear, workman, wound), かそう (appearance, construction of a house, converted, cremation, disguise, fancy dress, imagination, lower strata, masquerade, potential, supposition, temporary burial), げんしょう (decline, decrease, reduction), じそう (acolyte, aspect, children, phase, tense), じしょう (calling oneself, following chapter, matter, second in command, self-styled, time bell, would-be). (various references) | |
Korean | 현상 (Phenomena). (various references) | |
Manx | yindys (admiration, marvel, prodigy, surprise, wonder, wonderment), phenomenon, ard-yindys (amazement, astonishment, consternation). (various references) | |
Papiamen | fenómeno. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | enomenonphay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | fenômeno. (various references) | |
Romanian | om extraordinar, fenomen (fact, occurrence, prodigy), fapt neobişnuit, fapt (affair, case, circumstance, deed, event, fact, incident, paradox, reality). (various references) | |
Russian | феномен (phenomena, phenonmenon). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | pojava (advent, appearance, epiphany), fenomen. (various references) | |
Spanish | fenómeno (accident, freak, whiz, whizz, wiz). (various references) | |
Swedish | fenomen (whiz kid, whizz kid), företeelse (fact). (various references) | |
Turkish | olgu (event, fact), olağanüstü şey (humdinger, lulu, marvel, prodigy, ripsnorter), harika (beautiful, bully, cool, corking, divine, fabulous, fantastic, fantastical, far out, gorgeous, groovy, immense, in the groove, jolly good, keen, marvel, marvellous, marvelous, miracle, no mean, old, phenomenal, prodigious, prodigy, ripping, scrumptious, splendid, swell, whizz, wicked, wizard, wonder, wonderful, wondrous, yummy, yum-yum), fenomen, doğal olay, bilince yansıyan olay, algılanabilen şey. (various references) | |
Turkmen | hadysa (event, occurence). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чудо (marvel, miracle, phenix, Phoenix, prodigy, wonder), феномен (appearance). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | phainomenon. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "phenomenon": phenomenons. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "phenomenon": epiphenomenon, superphenomenon. (additional references) | |
Words containing "phenomenon": superphenomenons. (additional references) | |
| |
"Phenomenon" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: phenomanon, phenomen, phenomenan, phenomeno, phenomenol, phenomenom, phenomenona, phenomenons, phenomenum, phenominon, phenomonon, phenonemon, phenonmenon. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "phenomenon" (pronounced 'Phe*nom"e*non'): Anon, Champignon, Chignon, guenon, Memnon, Noumenon, Olecranon, Paralipomenon, Parthenon, Perispomenon, Phaenomenon, Phonorganon, Prolegomenon, Properispomenon. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-e-h-m-n-n-n-o-o-p" | |
-3 letters: nonheme, nonhome, phoneme. | |
-4 letters: hempen, nonmen, penmen, pennon, phenom, phonon. | |
-5 letters: nomen, oomph, penne, phone, phono. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-e-h-m-n-n-n-o-o-p" | |
+1 letter: phenomenons. | |
+3 letters: epiphenomenon. | |
+5 letters: incomprehension, superphenomenon. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Spoken 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
