visitation

visitation
visitational, adj.
/viz'i tay"sheuhn/, n.
1. the act of visiting.
2. a formal visit, as one permitted by a court's granting of visitation rights or by parents invited to a school to observe the work of students.
3. a visit for the purpose of making an official examination or inspection, as of a bishop to a diocese.
4. (usually cap.) the visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Luke 1:36-56.
5. (cap.) a church festival, held on July 2, in commemoration of this visit.
6. the administration of comfort or aid, or of affliction or punishment: a visitation of the plague.
7. an affliction or punishment, as from God.
8. the appearance or coming of a supernatural influence or spirit.
[1275-1325; < L visitation- (s. of visitatio), equiv. to visitat(us) (ptp. of visitare; see VISIT, -ATE1) + -ion- -ION; r. ME visitacioun < AF < L, as above]

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Bible
      the visit, described in the Gospel According to Luke (Luke, Gospel According to) (1:39–56), made by the Virgin Mary, pregnant with the infant Jesus, to her cousin Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary's greeting, the pregnant Elizabeth felt the infant St. John the Baptist (John the Baptist, Saint) leap in her womb, which, according to later doctrine, signified that he had become sanctified and cleansed of original sin. Mary then said the Magnificat (q.v.). The Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on May 31 (or, until 1969, on July 2).

      Until the 12th century, representations of the visitation showed the two women greeting each other either with formality and reserve (in the severe tradition of Hellenistic art) or with a tender embrace (of Syrian origin). The more emotional version, in accordance with a later medieval taste for realism, became predominant from the 12th century on. The growing importance of the Virgin as an object of devotion brought about another change at the beginning of the 15th century: Elizabeth was shown kneeling before her cousin. Also in the 15th century, a peculiar version of Byzan-tine origin began to gain popularity in the west and was widely adopted for a time; it showed the child John the Baptist, visible in the womb of Elizabeth, saluting the Child Jesus, visible in Mary's womb. This representation was outlawed by the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent, which considered it undignified, and the more sedate version showing Elizabeth kneeling was later imposed.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Visitation — (lat. visitare „besuchen“) heißt in vielen Gerichts , Kirchen und Ordensverfassungen der Besuch eines Oberen mit Aufsichtsbefugnis zum Zweck der Bestandsaufnahme und Normenkontrolle. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Römisch katholische Kirche 1.1… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • visitation — [ vizitasjɔ̃ ] n. f. • 1611; « visite » XIIe; lat. ecclés. visitatio ♦ Relig. cathol. Visite que fit la Sainte Vierge à sainte Élisabeth, alors enceinte de saint Jean Baptiste; fête commémorant cet événement (le 31 mai). Par ext. Tableau… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Visitation — Vis it*a tion, n. [L. visitatio: cf. F. visitation.] 1. The act of visiting, or the state of being visited; access for inspection or examination. [1913 Webster] Nothing but peace and gentle visitation. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Specifically: The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Visitation — may refer to: In law:* In United States Law, the term for the right of a non custodial parent to visit with their children, elsewhere known as Contact (law)* An official visit, usually for purposes of inspection, and the record of that visit.… …   Wikipedia

  • visitation — vis·i·ta·tion /ˌvi zə tā shən/ n 1: an official visit (as for inspection) visitation of the home of a neglected child 2: access to a child granted esp. to a parent who does not have custody supervised visitation visitation rights …   Law dictionary

  • visitation — Visitation. s. f. v. Il n est en usage qu en cette phrase. La visitation de la Vierge. la feste de la visitation, Instituée en memoire de ce que la sainte Vierge visita sainte Elisabeth sa cousine. Il y a un Ordre de Religieuses qu on appelle l… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • visitation — once a formal word for visit, is now largely confined to special meanings such as official visits of inspection and an affliction attributed to some supernatural agency or other. In AmE visitation also refers to the right granted by a court to a… …   Modern English usage

  • visitation — Visitation, Visitatio. Hantement de gens, ou visitation et assemblement d hommes, Congresþsus …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • visitation — ► NOUN 1) an official or formal visit. 2) the appearance of a divine or supernatural being. 3) US Law a divorced person s right to spend time with their children in the custody of a former spouse. 4) a disaster or difficulty regarded as a divine… …   English terms dictionary

  • visitation — [viz΄ə tā′shən] n. [OFr < L visitatio] 1. the act or an instance of visiting; esp., an official visit to inspect or examine, as that made by a bishop to a church in his diocese 2. a visiting of reward or, esp., punishment, as by God 3. any… …   English World dictionary

  • Visitation — (v. lat.), 1) die genaue Untersuchung einer Sache od. Person, daher z.B. die Untersuchung, welche mit der Person eines Gefangenen bei dessen Einlieferung in ein Gefangenhaus stattfindet, od. die Untersuchung aller verdächtiger Orte u. Gegenstände …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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