advent

American  

[ad-vent] / ˈæd vɛnt /

noun

1. a coming into place, view, or being; arrival.

   the advent of the holiday season.

   Synonyms:

   start, commencement, beginning, onset

2. Usually Advent the coming of Christ into the world.

3. Advent, the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.

4. Usually Advent Second Coming.

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advent ¹ British  

/ ˈædvɛnt, -vənt /

noun

1. an arrival or coming, esp one which is awaited

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Advent ² British  

/ -vənt, ˈædvɛnt /

noun

1. Christianity the season including the four Sundays preceding Christmas or (in Eastern Orthodox churches) the forty days preceding Christmas

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Advent Cultural  

1. The coming of Jesus, either in the Incarnation of biblical times or in the Second Coming at the end of the world. Also, a time observed in many Christian churches in December to prepare for Christmas.

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Usage

What is Advent season? Advent is the season before Christmas. In many branches of Christianity, Advent consists of the period starting four Sundays before Christmas.Among Christians, Advent is typically considered a season of preparation for the celebration of Christmas that also commemorates the coming of Jesus. The word Advent can also refer to the coming of Jesus into the world (it can also refer to what’s known as Jesus’s Second Coming).Religious rituals for Advent include the lighting of candles on an Advent wreath and the decoration of Jesse trees.Although Christmas is widely celebrated in both religious and secular (nonreligious) ways, Advent is primarily a religious observance. However, Advent calendars are a popular way of marking the days until Christmas even for those who do not celebrate it in religious ways.The similar season observed in anticipation of Easter is known as Lent.

Etymology

Origin of advent

First recorded in 1125–75; Middle English, from Latin adventus “arrival, approach,” equivalent to ad- “toward” + ven- (stem of venīre “to come”) + -tus suffix of verbal action; ad-

Example Sentences

A foodbank is asking donors to consider trying a "reverse advent calendar" this year – giving 24 items to help provide Christmas hampers to families in need.

From BBC

Many veteran American sailors no longer want to spend months at sea, where until recently they had been largely cut off from communications—though the advent of satellite-internet is changing that.

From The Wall Street Journal

With the advent of increasingly powerful consumer computing devices, cloud computing, and high-bandwidth internet connections, the concept of the metaverse is materializing.

From Barron's

That has brought huge technological leaps to everything from smartphones to cars, as well as the advent of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

From Barron's

The advent of less costly TPUs means it could be undercut on price if other companies were to establish an AI cloud competitor.

From Barron's

Related Words

• arrival
• coming
• onset