phase

pronunciation

How to pronounce phase in British English: UK [feɪz] word uk audio image

How to pronounce phase in American English: US [feɪz] word us audio image

Noun:

(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle
(astronomy) the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination (especially one of the recurring shapes of the part of Earth's moon that is illuminated by the sun)
Verb:

arrange in phases or stages
adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition

Word Origin

phase: phase: [19] Greek phásis (a derivative of the verb phaínein ‘show’, source of English phantom) meant ‘appearance’, and also ‘cyclical apparent form of a planet, moon, etc’. This was adopted into modern Latin as phasis, and it originally passed into English (in the 17th century) in the Latin plural form phases. Phase represents a new singular formed from this. The more familiar modern sense ‘stage in a sequence’ is a metaphorical extension of the astronomical meaning.=> phantom

phase (n.): 1705, "phase of the moon," back-formed as a singular from Modern Latin phases, plural of phasis, from Greek phasis "appearance" (of a star), "phase" (of the moon), from stem of phainein "to show, to make appear" (see phantasm). Latin singular phasis was used in English from 1660. Non-lunar application is first attested 1841. Meaning "temporary difficult period" (especially of adolescents) is attested from 1913.

phase (v.): "to synchronize," 1895, from phase (n.). Meaning "to carry out gradually" is from 1949, hence phase in "introduce gradually" (1954), phase out (1954). Related: Phased; phasing.

1. When china was in its steroid-induced growth phase , copper was mr. universe .

2. The company will need that much time to lay the groundwork for its next phase of growth .

4. The great migration of personal data to the cloud has reached a critical phase .