phase

English Online Dictionary. What means phase‎? What does phase mean?

English

Etymology 1

From New Latin phasis, from Ancient Greek φάσις (phásis, “an appearance”), from φάω (pháō, “to shine”); compare phantasm and see face.

Pronunciation

• enPR: fāz, IPA^(key): /feɪz/
• Rhymes: -eɪz
• Hyphenation: phase
• Homophone: faze

Noun

phase (plural phases)

1. A distinguishable part of a sequence or cycle occurring over time.
2. That which is exhibited to the eye; the appearance which anything manifests, especially any one among different and varying appearances of the same object.
3. Any appearance or aspect of an object of mental apprehension or view.

4. (astronomy) A particular appearance or state in a regularly recurring cycle of changes with respect to quantity of illumination or form, or the absence, of its enlightened disk. Illustrated in Wikipedia's article Lunar phase.

5. (physics) Any one point or portion in a recurring series of changes, as in the changes of motion of one of the particles constituting a wave or vibration; one portion of a series of such changes, in distinction from a contrasted portion, as the portion on one side of a position of equilibrium, in contrast with that on the opposite side.
6. (chemistry) A component in a material system that is distinguished by chemical composition and/or physical state (solid, liquid or gas) and/or crystal structure. It is delineated from an adjoining phase by an abrupt change in one or more of those conditions.
7. (zoology) In certain organisms, one of two or more colour variations characteristic of the species, but independent of the ordinary seasonal and sexual differences, and often also of age.
8. (rugby union) The period of play between consecutive breakdowns.
9. (genetics) A haplotype.
10. (mathematics) The counterclockwise angle from the positive half of the real number line to the vector pointing to a complex number on an Argand diagram of the complex plane, which has the positive real line pointing right and the positive imaginary number line pointing up.

    Synonym: argument

11. (music) A distortion caused by a difference in the speed of propagation for different frequencies
12. (electrical engineering) In a polyphase electrical power system, one of the power-carrying conductors, or the alternating current carried by it.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• phase on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

phase (third-person singular simple present phases, present participle phasing, simple past and past participle phased)

1. (with in or out) To begin—if construed with "in"—or to discontinue—if construed with out—(doing) something over a period of time (i.e. in phases).

2. (genetics, informal, transitive) To determine haplotypes in (data) when genotypes are known.
3. To pass into or through a solid object.
4. (science fiction) To use a phaser.

Hyponyms

• phase in
• phase out

Derived terms

• phaseable
• rephase
• unphased

Etymology 2

Verb

phase (third-person singular simple present phases, present participle phasing, simple past and past participle phased)

1. Antique form of faze.

Usage notes

See notes at faze.

Etymology 3

From Latin phase (“passover”), Phasa, from Hebrew פָּסַח (pésach).

Alternative forms

• Phase

Proper noun

phase

1. (obsolete) Passover

References

Anagrams

• HEPAs, Heaps, ephas, heaps, shape

Dutch

Noun

phase f (plural phasen or phases, diminutive phasetje n)

1. Obsolete spelling of fase.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /faz/

Noun

phase f (plural phases)

1. phase

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Dutch: fase, phase (obsolete)
  • Afrikaans: fase
  • → Indonesian: fase
  • → West Frisian: faze
• → Georgian: ფაზა (paza)
• → Khmer: ផាស (phaah)
• → Norwegian: fase
• → Romanian: fază
• → Turkish: faz
• → Vietnamese: pha

Further reading

• “phase”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Alternative forms

• Phase

Etymology

From Ancient Greek φασέκ (phasék, “Passover”), from a Semitic language.

Noun

phase n (indeclinable)

1. Passover
2. the Passover sacrifice; Paschal Lamb

Synonyms

• pascha

Descendants

• Old English: phase

References

• “Phase”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Portuguese

Noun

phase f (plural phases)

1. Pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of fase.