Eclipse: A Shadow in the Sky, and a Verb for Being Outshone
An eclipse happens when one body blocks the light of another. The Greek word behind it means a failure to appear, which is exactly how it looked from the ground.
An eclipse is what happens when one body passes into another's shadow or across its face. To the Greeks who named it, the sun had simply failed to turn up — *ekleipsis* means an abandonment or a failing. The verb kept that sense of loss: a new star eclipses an old one by leaving it in shade.
- The blocking of light from one body by another. *A total solar eclipse.*
- To block light in this way. *The moon eclipsed the sun.*
- To surpass someone, leaving them overshadowed. *Her second novel eclipsed the first.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | eclipse | A lunar eclipse. |
| Plural | eclipses | Two eclipses this year. |
| Verb | eclipse | It eclipsed the record. |
| Past | eclipsed | Eclipsed by his brother. |
| Adjective | ecliptic | The ecliptic plane. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The eclipse will be total along a narrow path.Totality is only visible from a strip of the surface.
- His early success was eclipsed by what came later.The figurative use is nearly always passive.
- Never look at a solar eclipse without proper filters.Standard safety advice, and worth repeating.
Kinds of eclipse
- Solar — the moon passes between earth and sun
- Lunar — the earth's shadow falls on the moon
- Total — the source is completely covered
- Partial — only part is covered
- Annular — the moon is too far away to cover the sun, leaving a ring of light
From Old French *eclipse*, from Latin *eclipsis*, from Greek *ekleipsis*, a failing or forsaking, from *ek* (out) and *leipein* (to leave). The related word *ecliptic* names the path the sun appears to trace, because eclipses can only happen near it.
Why is there not an eclipse every month?
The moon's orbit is tilted about five degrees, so it usually passes above or below the line between earth and sun.
What is totality?
The few minutes when the sun is completely covered. It is visible only inside a narrow track across the earth's surface.