visitation
/ˌvɪzɪˈteɪʃən/ noun, proper noun
Forms visitations the Visitation
- noun The act of visiting, or an instance of being visited.
- noun An official visit to inspect or examine something.
- noun An encounter with aliens or supernatural beings such as ghosts.
- noun An affliction or disaster attributed to destiny, or to God.
- noun (law) The right of a separated or divorced parent to visit a child; access.
- noun A punishment or blessing ordained by God.
- noun (ecology) An unusual and extensive irruption of a species of animals into another region.
- proper noun (Christianity) The visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth; the commemoration of this on May 30th in Eastern Christianity or May 31st in Western Christianity.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman visitacioun, from Old French visitacion, from Latin vīsitātiō. By surface analysis, visit + -ation.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination.
- noun Specifically: The act of a superior or superintending officer who, in the discharge of his office, visits a corporation, college, etc., to examine into the manner in which it is conducted, and see that its laws and regulations are duly observed and executed; as, the visitation of a diocese by a bishop.
Etymology [L. visitatio: cf. F. visitation.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “visitation”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details