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annunciation

[uh-nuhn-see-ey-shuh n]
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noun
  1. (often initial capital letter) the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary of her conception of Christ.
  2. (initial capital letter) a representation of this in art.
  3. (initial capital letter) Also called Lady Day. the church festival on March 25 in memory of this.
  4. an act or instance of announcing; proclamation: the annunciation of a new foreign policy.
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Origin of annunciation

1350–1400; Middle English an(n)unciacio(u)n (< Anglo-French) < Medieval Latin annūnciātiōn-, stem of annūnciātiō, for Late Latin adnūntiātiō; see annunciate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

edictenunciationnoticepublicationcommunicationdeclarationpronouncementadvertisementproclamationbulletinnotification

Examples from the Web for annunciation

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Quebec Chapel was built in 1788, and is now called the Church of the Annunciation.

    Hampstead and Marylebone

    Geraldine Edith Mitton

  • In the small chapel of the Annunciation is an altar piece by Guido Reni.

    Italy, the Magic Land

    Lilian Whiting

  • I am certain that your dear likeness is to be found under the Annunciation.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

  • I had drawn her apart from the company, expecting she would be agitated by the annunciation.

    Ernest Linwood

    Caroline Lee Hentz

  • Painted the altar-piece of the "Annunciation," in the Cathedral, Volterra.

    Luca Signorelli

    Maud Cruttwell

British Dictionary definitions for annunciation

Annunciation

noun
  1. the Annunciation New Testament the announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26–38)
  2. Also called: Annunciation Day the festival commemorating this, held on March 25 (Lady Day)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for annunciation

n.

early 14c., "Lady Day," from Anglo-French anunciacioun, Old French anonciacion, from Latin annuntiationem (nominative annuntiatio), noun of action from past participle stem of annuntiare (see announce). The Church festival (March 25) commemorating the visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, foretelling the incarnation. General sense of "an announcing" is from 1560s. Old English for "Annunciation Day" was bodungdæg.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
annunciation in Culture

Annunciation

An announcement made by the angel Gabriel to Mary, the mother of Jesus, that she was going to bear a son, even though she was a virgin. Her son was to be called Jesus.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.