Eclipse

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈklɪps/, /iˈklɪps/
• Hyphenation: eclipse

Origin

From Old French eclipse, from Latin eclīpsis, from Ancient Greek ἔκλειψις ("eclipse"), from ἐκλείπω ("I abandon, got missing, vanish"), from ἐκ ("out") and λείπω ("I leave behind").

Full definition of eclipse

Noun

1. (astronomy) An alignment of astronomical objects in which a planetary object (for example, the Moon) comes between the Sun and another planetary object (for example, the Earth), resulting in a shadow being cast by the middle planetary object onto the other planetary object.
2. A seasonal state of plumage in some birds, notably ducks, adopted temporarily after the breeding season and characterised by a dull and scruffy appearance.
3. Obscurity, decline, downfall
• Sir Walter RaleighAll the posterity of our first parents suffered a perpetual eclipse of spiritual life.
• ShelleyAs in the soft and sweet eclipse,
  When soul meets soul on lovers' lips.
• 1929, M. Barnard Eldershaw, A House is Built, Chapter VIII, Section iiNor were the wool prospects much better. The pastoral industry, which had weathered the severe depression of the early forties by recourse to boiling down the sheep for their tallow, and was now firmly re-established as the staple industry of the colony, was threatened once more with eclipse.

Derived terms

• lunar eclipse
• solar eclipse
• total eclipse

Related terms

• ecliptic
• ecliptical

Verb

1. (transitive) Of astronomical bodies, to cause an eclipse.The Moon eclipsed the Sun.
2. (transitive) To overshadow; to be better or more noticeable than.The student’s skills soon eclipsed those of his teacher.
• ShakespeareMy joy of liberty is half eclipsed.
3. (Irish grammar) To undergo eclipsis.