epiphenomenon
/ˌɛpəfəˈnɑməˌnɑn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.22 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An activity, process, or state that is the result of another; a by-product, a consequence.
noun
A mental process or state that is an incidental by-product of physiological events in the brain or nervous system.
Example Sentences
- "Yet I would suggest that philosophical and even medical curiosity are only epiphenomenons of another condition that brought deafness to cultural attention."
- "[R]esource conservation is an epiphenomenon of warfare: a no-man's land between two warring tribes becomes a wildlife refuge because hunters do not visit the area for fear of becoming casualties in the war."
- "It is curious that the Russians, calling themselves Christians, and like so many othere nominal christians throughout history, took no notice whatsoeverof the key parable of Jesus Christ himself, which taught that you shall love your neighbor as yourself, and that even those you have despised and hated are your neighbors. This has never made any difference to Christians, since the primary epiphenomena of any religion's foundation are the production and flourishment of hypocrisy, megalomania and psychopathy, and the first casualties of a religion's establishment are the intentions of its founder."
- "Let's ask the question: Do epiphenomenons of emotions and feelings appear in these artificial brains? If so, where do they appear? It would be difficult to explain how such epiphenomenons might not appear in an artificial neural network, just as it does in a natural network."
- "It is a necessary corollary of the view here advanced that in instinct as such consciousness is a mere epiphenomenon—a by-product, with no bearing whatever on the performance of the activity in so far as it is instinctive."
- "According to this hypothesis, mind is a ‘collateral product’ of the physical, an ‘epiphænomenon’ accompanying, but never causally affecting, the physical series of phænomena."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi Proto-Hellenic *epí Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) Ancient Greek ἐπῐ- (epĭ-)der. English epi- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō) Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor. Late Latin phaenomenonder. English phenomenon English epiphenomenon From epi- (prefix meaning ‘above, on, over; in addition to’) + phenomenon. Phenomenon is derived from Late Latin phaenomenon (“appearance”), from Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon, “thing that appears in one’s view; appearance; phenomenon”), a noun use of the neuter singular form of φαινόμενος (phainómenos), the present middle or passive participle of φαίνω (phaínō, “to cause to appear; to reveal, show, uncover; to expound”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to glow with light, to shine”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Prefix: epi
- Root: phaenomenon, φαινόμενον, *bʰeh₂-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɛpəfəˈnɑməˌnɑn/
- British English: /ˌɛpɪfəˈnɒmɪnən/