Emphainein

Emphainein is an ancient Greek verb used to express the act of revealing, displaying, or showing something, and in some contexts to indicate that something appears or becomes evident. The term functions in both literal senses (making something visible) and figurative ones (demonstrating a point, exposing character, or presenting evidence).

Etymology and form: Emphainein is built from the root phainein, meaning “to appear” or “to show,” with a prefixed or intensified form that appears in classical usage. In Greek literature, it occurs in various constructions and tenses, often in discussions of appearance, demonstration, or outward manifestness. The exact nuance depends on context, ranging from physical display to the rhetorical or evidentiary presentation of something hidden or uncertain.

Usage and nuance: In philosophical and rhetorical texts, emphainein is associated with making aspects of reality evident to an audience. It can connote a deliberate demonstration or disclosure, as in presenting a proof, signs, or inward traits that become outwardly visible. This contrasts with phainesthai, a more general verb meaning “to appear” or “to seem,” whereas emphainein emphasizes the act of showing or revealing something to others.

Modern connections: The root survives in Modern Greek with cognate forms such as εμφανίζομαι (emfanízomai), meaning “to appear” or “to display.” In English-language scholarship, emphainein appears primarily in studies of ancient Greek rhetoric and epistemology, where it helps describe the dynamics of display, demonstration, and disclosure in argument and character.

See also: phainein, phainesthai, rhetoric, Greek philosophy. References commonly include standard Greek lexica such as the Liddell–Scott–Jones lexicon and contemporary linguistic commentaries on ancient Greek terminology.