levitation

levitation
levitational, adj.levitative, adj.
/lev'i tay"sheuhn/, n.
1. the act or phenomenon of levitating.
2. the raising or rising of a body in air by supernatural means.
[1660-70; LEVITATE + -ION]

* * *

      rising of a human body off the ground, in apparent defiance of the law of gravity. The term designates such alleged occurrences in the lives of saints (saint) and of spiritualist mediums, generally during a séance; levitation of furniture and other objects during a séance has also been reported. Levitation of witches and other figures of folklore is called transvection and is said to involve the rubbing of “flying ointment” on their bodies before flying to the sabbath (see witches' sabbath). The levitation of saints is usually directly upward, whereas that of witches has the dynamic purpose of transportation. Theologians long debated whether transvection was illusion or fact; levitation, however, has been subject to less controversy, though its practice has often been discouraged.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Levitation — (from Latin levitas lightness ) [ Levitate , to rise by virtue of lightness, from Latin levitas lightness, patterned in English on gravitate : [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=levitate Online Etymology Dictionary] ] is the process by… …   Wikipedia

  • lévitation — [ levitasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1863; angl. levitation, du lat. levitas « légèreté » 1 ♦ Parapsychol. Élévation d objets pesants, spécialt le corps humain, par un procédé psychokinétique. Lévitation d un yogi en état de transe (⇒ léviter) . 2 ♦ Phys.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Levitation — Lévitation Lévitation de Daniel Dunglas Home (1852) La lévitation est le fait, pour un être ou un objet, de se déplacer ou de rester en suspension au dessus du sol, sous l effet d une force, connue ou inconnue, plus forte que la gravitation. Ce… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Levitation — bezeichnet Levitation (Parapsychologie), ein parapsychologisches Phänomen, bei dem Menschen und Gegenstände unerklärlich schweben sollen Levitation (Technik), ein technisches Verfahren, bei dem ein Objekt mit Hilfe einer Kraft zum Schweben… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Levitation — Lev i*ta tion ( t[=a] sh[u^]n), n. [L. levis light in weight.] [1913 Webster] 1. Lightness; buoyancy; act of making light. Paley. [1913 Webster] 2. The act or process of making buoyant. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • levitation — 1660s, noun of action from L. levitas (see LEVITATE (Cf. levitate)) + ION (Cf. ion) …   Etymology dictionary

  • levitation — [lev΄ə tā′shən] n. 1. a levitating or being levitated 2. the illusion of raising and keeping a heavy body in the air with little or no physical support …   English World dictionary

  • Levitation — levitacija statusas T sritis automatika atitikmenys: angl. levitating; levitation vok. Levitation, f rus. левитация, f pranc. lévitation, f …   Automatikos terminų žodynas

  • levitation — levitacija statusas T sritis automatika atitikmenys: angl. levitating; levitation vok. Levitation, f rus. левитация, f pranc. lévitation, f …   Automatikos terminų žodynas

  • lévitation — levitacija statusas T sritis automatika atitikmenys: angl. levitating; levitation vok. Levitation, f rus. левитация, f pranc. lévitation, f …   Automatikos terminų žodynas

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”