semblance
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English semblaunce, from Old French semblance,[1] from semblant, present participle of sembler.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editsemblance (countable and uncountable, plural semblances)
- likeness, similarity; the quality of being similar.
- the way something looks; appearance; form
- 1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 2:
- England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship, which mastered the winds and rode proudly over the waves.
Synonyms
edit- (likeness): veneer
Related terms
editTranslations
editlikeness, similarity
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References
edit- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “semblance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading
edit- “semblance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “semblance”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “semblance”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations