Surprisings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Events or instances that cause unexpected astonishment or wonder in a person or group; occurrences that produce sudden amazement or startle reactions; situations or moments that bring about unforeseen delight or shock
2. Experiences or happenings that provoke a sudden sense of wonder or disbelief; acts or incidents that catch someone off guard and inspire awe or surprise; circumstances that result in an unanticipated emotional response due to novelty or rarity
3. Phenomena or developments that evoke feelings of amazement or incredulity; actions or episodes that interrupt expectations by their unpredicted nature; conditions or events whose abrupt appearance results in a notable sense of shock or thrill

Etymology: "Surprisings" is the plural of "surprising," which in turn is formed from "surprise" plus the suffix "-ing." Because the suffix can mark a gerund, a participle or a noun, the form itself does not settle which sense is in play, but the noun "surprise" carries most of the history. It came into English from Old French "surprise," the feminine past participle of "surprendre," meaning "to overtake" or "to seize," built from "sur-" (over) and "prendre" (to take), which ultimately descends from Latin "prehendere." The original sense was therefore physical rather than emotional: to surprise something was to catch it unaware, to seize or overpower it. The idea of a sudden shock to the mind grew out of that notion of being caught off guard, and the military sense of an unexpected attack lies close to the same root. Plural forms like "surprisings" are rare in everyday use, and they appear mainly when a writer wants to treat a category of unexpected events as separate, countable instances.

Synonyms: astonishments, unexpected events, shocks, revelations

Antonyms: expectations, predictabilities