Meanings
advent1
plural advents
- Arrival; onset; a time when something first comes or appears; the time when it is approaching.
Death's dreadful advent
1743, [Edward Young], “Night the Fifth. The Relapse. […]”, in The Complaint. Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, & Immortality. Night the Fifth, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley […], and sold by M[ary] Cooper […], →OCLC3 more examples
At the period just preceding the advent of Bartleby, I had two persons as copyists in my employment, and a promising lad as an office-boy.
1853, Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, in The Piazza Tales, New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, published 1856The car in which I had taken Olivia to dinner and then out to the cemetery — a historic vehicle, even a monument of sorts, in the history of fellatio's advent onto the Winesburg campus in the second half of the twentieth century — went careening off to the side...
2008, Philip Roth, IndignationBerlin's six-decade career began before the advent of radio and ended during the height of Beatlemania.
2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 2, 51-52
present singular third person advents · participle present adventing · participle past advented · past advented
- To arrive or begin, especially at the first coming or appearance of something.
2014 Adam Pryor. The god who lives. In the flesh, self and world are always coming-to-be, adventing, in an intimate reciprocity to one another.
3 more examples
1869 Grove Berry. Ritualism; Part II of An Enquiry. Pub: LONGMANS, GREEN et al. But suppose we depart from the suggestion there made, and, leaving the idea of the status quo from which He advented to Earth, we rise with Solomon (Prov. viii), to some stasis which must be indefinite to us, are we not presumptuous if not even unpractical, Gnostical, and merely scholastic?
The new Democratic war-horse from Calaveras has lately advented in the Legislature with a little bill to change the name of Tretherick to Starbottle.
1873, Francis Bret Harte, An episode of Fiddletown, and other sketches1978 Mohammed Ahmad Qureshi. Marriage and Matrimonial Remedies: A Uniform Civil Code for India Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad in Tarjuman-ul-Quran says that in the seventh century when Islam was advented males had uncontrolled rights.
Advent2
- ChristianityThe first or the expected second coming of Christ.
- ChristianityThe period or season of the Christian church year between Advent Sunday and Christmas: the period of the advent (approaching) of Christmas.
Synonyms: Christmas season, Christmastime, Christmastide, yuletide
- An unincorporated community in Jackson County, West Virginia, United States, named after a local church, itself named after the Christian concept.
Advent3
- A civil parish near Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo arrive or begin, especially at the first coming or appearance of something.
proper nounThe period or season of the Christian church year between Advent Sunday and Christmas: the period of the advent (approaching) of Christmas.
More synonyms by meaning
nounarrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
advent · noun, verb
- Latinadventus“arrival, approach”
- Englishadvent
Borrowed from Latin adventus (“arrival, approach”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Ἔλευσις
- Ἔλευσις (Éleusis)coming of the Christ
Basque Abendualdia
- Abendualdiaseason before Christmas
Bulgarian поява, идване
- поява (pojava)coming, arrival
- идване (idvane)coming, arrival
- прише́ствие (prišéstvie)coming of the Christ
Catalan Advent, Advent
- Adventcoming of the Christ
- Adventseason before Christmas
Chinese Cantonese 將臨期 /将临期, 降臨節 /降临节
- 將臨期 /将临期 (zoeng¹ lam⁴ kei⁴)season before Christmas
- 降臨節 /降临节 (gong³ lam⁴ zit³)season before Christmas
- 待降節 /待降节 (doi⁶ gong³ zit³)season before Christmas
Chinese Mandarin 到來 /到来, 出現 /出现
- 到來 /到来 (dàolái)coming, arrival
- 出現 /出现 (chūxiàn)coming, arrival
- 來臨 /来临 (láilín)coming, arrival
- 將臨期 /将临期 (jiānglínqī)season before Christmas
- 降臨節 /降临节 (Jiànglínjié)season before Christmas
- 待降節 /待降节 (Dàijiàngjié)season before Christmas
Czech advent
- adventseason before Christmas
Danish komme, ankomst
- kommecoming, arrival
- ankomstcoming, arrival
- adventseason before Christmas
Dutch advent
- adventseason before Christmas
Esperanto Kristalveno, Advento
- Kristalvenocoming of the Christ
- Adventoseason before Christmas
Finnish saapuminen, Kristuksen tuleminen
- saapuminencoming, arrival
- Kristuksen tuleminencoming of the Christ
- adventtiseason before Christmas
French arrivée, Avent
- arrivéecoming, arrival
- Aventseason before Christmas
German Ankunft, Advent
- Ankunftcoming, arrival
- Adventseason before Christmas
Greek έλευση, άφιξη
- έλευση (élefsi)coming, arrival
- άφιξη (áfixi)coming, arrival
- Δευτέρα Έλευση (Deftéra Élefsi)season before Christmas
Hebrew ביאה, ביאת המשיח
- ביאהcoming, arrival
- ביאת המשיחcoming, arrival
Hindi आगमन
- आगमन (āgman)coming, arrival
Hungarian eljövetel, megérkezés
- eljövetelcoming, arrival
- megérkezéscoming, arrival
- adventseason before Christmas
Icelandic aðventa, jólafasta
- aðventaseason before Christmas
- jólafastaseason before Christmas
Indonesian adven, adven
- advencoming of the Christ
- advenseason before Christmas
Irish Aidbhint
- Aidbhintseason before Christmas
Italian avvento, Avvento
- avventocoming, arrival
- Avventoseason before Christmas
Japanese 降臨節
- 降臨節 (kōrinsetsu)season before Christmas
Korean 대림절
- 대림절 (daerimjeol)season before Christmas
Latin adventus
- adventusseason before Christmas
Latvian Advente
- Adventeseason before Christmas
Lithuanian Adventas
- Adventasseason before Christmas
Māori Haerenga mai
- Haerenga maiseason before Christmas
Norwegian Bokmål advent, advent
- adventcoming, arrival
- adventseason before Christmas
Polish nadejście, Adwent
- nadejściecoming, arrival
- Adwentcoming of the Christ
- adwentseason before Christmas
Portuguese chegada, vinda
- chegadacoming, arrival
- vindacoming, arrival
- adventocoming, arrival
- Adventoseason before Christmas
Romanian Advent
- Adventseason before Christmas
Russian появле́ние, приход
- появле́ние (pojavlénije)coming, arrival
- приход (prixod)coming, arrival
- прибытие (pribytije)coming, arrival
- наступление (nastuplenije)coming, arrival
- применение (primenenije)coming, arrival
- развитие (razvitije)coming, arrival
- разработка (razrabotka)coming, arrival
- пришествие (prišestvije)coming, arrival
- изобретение (izobretenije)coming, arrival
- прише́ствие (prišéstvije)coming of the Christ
- Адве́нт (Advént)season before Christmas
Spanish advenimiento, Adviento
- advenimientocoming, arrival
- Advientocoming of the Christ
- Advientoseason before Christmas
Swahili Majilio, Adventi
- Majilioseason before Christmas
- Adventiseason before Christmas
Swedish ankomst, advent
- ankomstcoming, arrival
- adventseason before Christmas
Tagalog Adbiyento, Adbiyento
- Adbiyentocoming of the Christ
- Adbiyentoseason before Christmas
Vietnamese Mùa Vọng
- Mùa Vọngseason before Christmas
Welsh dyfodiad, Adfent
- dyfodiadcoming, arrival
- Adfentseason before Christmas
- Dyfodiadseason before Christmas
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
advent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/advent
“advent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/advent. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “advent,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/advent.
Source: advent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.