Phenomenon vs Magic - What's the difference?
phenomenon | magic |
An observable fact or occurrence or a kind of observable fact or occurrence.
* 1900 , , The Making of Religion , ch. 1:
* 2007 , "
Appearance; a perceptible aspect of something that is mutable.
* 1662 , Thomas Salusbury (translator), Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World , First Day:
A fact or event considered very unusual, curious, or astonishing by those who witness it.
* 1816 , , The Antiquary—Volume I , ch. 18:
A wonderful or very remarkable person or thing.
* 1839 , , Nicholas Nickleby , ch. 23:
* 1888 , , "The Phantom Rickshaw":
An experienced object whose constitution reflects the order and conceptual structure imposed upon it by the human mind (especially by the powers of perception and understanding).
* 1900 , , "Comparison of Some Views of Spencer and Kant," Mind , vol. 9, no. 34, p. 234:
* 1912 , , "Is There a Cognitive Relation?" The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods , vol. 9, no. 9, p. 232:
The use of rituals or actions, especially based on supernatural or occult knowledge, to manipulate or obtain information about the natural world, especially when seen as falling outside the realm of religion; also the forces allegedly drawn on for such practices.
*c. 1489 , (William Caxton), Foure Sonnes of Aymon :
*:And whan he shall be arrayed as I telle you / lete hym thenne doo his incantacyons & his magyke as he wyll […].
*1781 , (Edward Gibbon), Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire , II.23:
*:The arts of magic and divination were strictly prohibited.
*1971 , , Religion and the Decline of Magic , Folio Society 2012, p. 23:
*:Conversions to the new religion […] have frequently been assisted by the view of converts that they are acquiring not just a means of otherworldly salvation, but a new and more powerful magic .
A specific ritual or procedure associated with supernatural magic or with mysticism; a spell.
Something producing remarkable results, especially when not fully understood; an enchanting quality; exceptional skill.
* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham)
, title=(The China Governess)
, chapter=1 A conjuring trick or illusion performed to give the appearance of supernatural phenomena or powers.
Having supernatural talents, properties or qualities attributed to magic.
Producing extraordinary results, as though through the use of magic; wonderful, amazing.
Pertaining to conjuring tricks or illusions performed for entertainment etc.
(colloquial) Great; excellent.
(physics) Describing the number of nucleons in a particularly stable isotopic nucleus; 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126, and 184.
To produce, transform (something), (as if) by magic.
As a noun phenomenon
is an observable fact or occurrence or a kind of observable fact or occurrence.As a proper noun magic is
the decrypted japanese messages produced by us cryptographers in and prior to world war ii.phenomenon
English
(wikipedia phenomenon)Alternative forms
* phaenomenon, (archaic) * phainomenon * (qualifier)Noun
(phenomena)- The Indians, making a hasty inference from a trivial phenomenon , arrived unawares at a probably correct conclusion.
Ask the Experts: Hurricanes," USA Today , 7 Nov. (retrieved 16 Jan. 2009):
- Hurricanes are a meteorological phenomenon .
- I verily believe that in the Moon there are no rains, for if Clouds should gather in any part thereof, as they do about the Earth, they would thereupon hide from our sight some of those things, which we with the Telescope behold in the Moon, and in a word, would some way or other change its Phœnomenon .
- The phenomenon of a huge blazing fire, upon the opposite bank of the glen, again presented itself to the eye of the watchman. . . . He resolved to examine more nearly the object of his wonder.
- "This, sir," said Mr Vincent Crummles, bringing the maiden forward, "this is the infant phenomenon —Miss Ninetta Crummles."
- But, all the same, you're a phenomenon', and as queer a ' phenomenon as you are a blackguard.
- Every "phenomenon " must be, at any rate, partly subjective or dependent on the subject.
- The Kantian phenomenon is the real as we are compelled to think it.
Usage notes
* The universal, common, modern spelling of this term is (term). Of the , phaenomenon, ,). * By far the most common and universally accepted plural form is the classical phenomena; the Anglicised phenomenons is also sometimes used. The plural form (term) is frequently misused in the singular. Arising from this misuse, the double plurals phenomenas and phenomenae, as well as a form employing the greengrocer’s apostrophe — — are seen in non-standard use; they are erroneous.Synonyms
* (observable fact or occurrence) event * marvel, miracle, oddity, wonder * (wonderful person or thing) marvel, miracle, phenom, prodigy, wonderAntonyms
* noumenon, thing-in-itselfDerived terms
* phenomExternal links
* * English nouns with irregular pluralsmagic
English
Alternative forms
* magick (qualifier) Used as a deliberate archaism; used for supernatural magic, as distinguished from stage magic. * magicke (obsolete) * magique (obsolete)Noun
(en-noun)citation, passage=The original family who had begun to build a palace to rival Nonesuch had died out before they had put up little more than the gateway, so that the actual structure which had come down to posterity retained the secret magic of a promise rather than the overpowering splendour of a great architectural achievement.}}
Synonyms
* (allegedly supernatural method to dominate natural forces) dwimmer, thaumaturgy, conjuring, sorcery, witchcraft, dweomercraft/dwimmercraft * (illusion performed to give the appearance of magic or the supernatural) sleight of hand, illusionism, legerdemain, dwimmerAdjective
(-)- a magic''' wand; a '''magic dragon
- a magic moment
- a magic''' show; a '''magic trick
- — I cleaned up the flat while you were out. — Really? Magic !