total eclipse
3
4.4
- noun
- /ˈtoʊtəl ɪˈklɪps/
- Specialized
:
eclipse total
- The stage is set for next month's dramatic total eclipse of the sun.
- total eclipse of the Sun
And I feel like that's what helps create this odd feeling around partial eclipses that they're, they're somehow stranger than total eclipses, that they're like almost more unsettling.
- And I feel like that's what helps create this odd feeling around partial eclipses that they're, they're somehow stranger than total eclipses, that they're like almost more unsettling.
Examples
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As I mentioned, next Wednesday here in Far North Queensland we have a total eclipse occurring.
Blog text (10) -
There is something deeply mystical about a total eclipse of the sun, something that calls to a primitive emotion embedded in the human psyche and stirs the ancient man inside.
Academic text (2002) -
And that night, there was a blue moon and a total eclipse.
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You remember that total eclipse of the sun about a week ago?
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And then we experienced a total eclipse of the sun.
Fiction book (1994) -
Total eclipse of the sun in two weeks.
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We had a total eclipse of the sun on February 26, 1998, at least if you went to the right place.
Academic text (1999) -
We will not have an easily reachable total eclipse through North America until 2017.
Academic text (1999) -
Next November, people in central Africa will experience an even shorter total eclipse lasting barely one minute.
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You remember that total eclipse of the sun about a week ago?
Synonyms
87
5.2
A time when one object, like the Moon, moves into another object's shadow and is hidden
1
9.9
One object in the sky, like a moon, passes in front of another and hides it completely or partly
How Covered
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an eclipse during which the eclipsed body is completely covered' is directly derivable from combining 'total' (complete) with 'eclipse' (obscuring of one body by another). This is a straightforward compositional phrase found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.
Etymology
Total eclipse comes from a simple image: total means 'completely' and eclipse is when one body hides another, like the Moon covering the Sun and the sky going dark. That's why a total eclipse means 'completely covered' so no part of the hidden body is visible.