ascension
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (5)
- (Christianity) celebration of the Ascension of Christ into heaven; observed on the 40th day after EasterSynonyms: Ascension DayAscension of the LordType of holy day of obligation
- (New Testament) the rising of the body of Jesus into heaven on the 40th day after his ResurrectionSynonyms: Ascension of JesusAscension of ChristInstance of miracle
- a movement upward; rise above the ground“they cheered the rise of the hot-air balloon”Synonyms: riserisingascentType of change of location, travelKinds elevation, uplifting, heave, upheaval, liftoff, takeoff, rapid climb, climb
- (astronomy) the rising of a star above the horizonType of change of location, travel
- the act of changing location in an upward directionSynonyms: riseascentascendingType of motion, movementKinds climb, heave, soar, levitation
a state or condition markedly different from the norm
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: F. ascension, L. ascensio, fr. ascendere. See Ascend.
1. The act of ascending; a rising; ascent.
2. Specifically: The visible ascent of our Savior on the fortieth day after his resurrection. (Acts i. 9.) Also, Ascension Day.
3. An ascending or arising, as in distillation; also that which arises, as from distillation.
Vaporous ascensions from the stomach.— Sir Thomas Browne
Ascension Day, the Thursday but one before Whitsuntide, the day on which commemorated our Savior's ascension into heaven after his resurrection; — called also Holy Thursday. — Right ascension Astronomy, that degree of the equinoctial, counted from the beginning of Aries, which rises with a star, or other celestial body, in a right sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the meridian with the star; — expressed either in degrees or in time. — Oblique ascension Astronomy, an arc of the equator, intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator which rises together with a star, in an oblique sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the horizon with a star. It is little used in modern astronomy.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54