Phaenomenon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Something that is observed or perceived as happening in the world or in experience
2. A fact, occurrence, or thing that appears to the senses and can be witnessed or noticed
3. An observable event or circumstance that presents itself to awareness or investigation

Etymology: Ancient Greek thinkers used "phainomenon" in a plain, literal sense: a thing that shows itself to view. It came from "phainein," "to show" or "to bring into light," which is also the root behind "phantasm" and "fancy." Nothing in its origin hints at the grand, almost mystical sense English gives it today. The word simply meant whatever appeared before the eyes. It passed into Late Latin as "phaenomenon," still meaning "appearance," and then into English, where it arrived as a learned borrowing. Over the centuries English speakers narrowed it toward observable events and facts that could be studied, which is how it came to mean something that is perceived or experienced rather than something merely seen.