emanation

American  

[em-uh-ney-shuhn] / ˌɛm əˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of emanating.

2. something that emanates or is emanated.

3. Physical Chemistry. a gaseous product of radioactive disintegration, including radon, thoron, and actinon. Em

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emanation British  

/ ˌɛməˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of emanating

2. something that emanates or is produced; effusion

3. a gaseous product of radioactive decay, such as radon

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Other Word Forms

• emanational
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of emanation

1560–70; < Late Latin ēmānātiōn- (stem of ēmānātiō ), equivalent to ēmānāt ( us ) ( see emanate) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

Stinky smell coming from under the floor? Weird light from the garden shed at night? That's an emanation, something, often invisible, that is emitted by something. Emanation is very similar in meaning to emission, and the two words are often used interchangeably, though there is an important difference; there tends to be something slightly more other-worldy and inexplicable about an emanation, owing in part to the word's theological use in the Christian religion as a means of describing the Holy Spirit. An emission always has a solid base in reality or science, and an emanation may be just plain spooky.

Example Sentences

Hence: Primitive Sound Emanation, which turns out to be a fancy phrase for an impressively fierce wild-monkey screech.

From Chicago Tribune • Apr. 27, 2011

This was the Mother of Life, the Soul of the World, an Emanation from the Supreme Being, too pure to come in immediate contact with matter.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert

You will see by reference to our "Advanced Course in Yogi Philosophy, etc.," the general Yogi teachings regarding the Emanation of the One, known respectively as Mind, Energy, and Matter.

From A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga by Atkinson, William Walker

This above is the Breath, the Conception, the Emanation, the Dream, the Universal Energy—philosophers have called it by many names, but they mean the God-Idea wrought of necessity in Spirit, since God is spirit.

From Child and Country A Book of the Younger Generation by Comfort, Will Levington

The ancient Orphic doctrines, which were taught in the Mysteries, seem to have been based on the oriental idea of Emanation.

From Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws by Buchanan, James