semblance
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English semblaunce, from Old French semblance,[1] from semblant, present participle of sembler.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɛm.bləns/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
semblance (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
- (likeness): veneer
Related terms
English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem- (0 c, 76 e)
Translations
likeness, similarity
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References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “semblance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading
- “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.
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