When the term epiphany was initially introduced in the English language during the mid-14th century, it specifically denoted a festival held in early January to commemorate the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. At that time, it was always capitalized and occasionally spelled as Epyphany, Epiphanie, or Epiphanye. This concept had the same significance as the Old French epiphanie and Latin epiphania, ultimately tracing back to the Ancient Greek term for “divine manifestation,” which is epiphaneia. By the 1660s, the English language began using this original definition to describe manifestations of any deity, with a figurative extension to signify “realization.” The term epiphaneia comprises the prefix epi-, meaning “upon,” and the root phainein, meaning “show” or “shine.”
