Appearance

Appearance - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

APPE'ARANCE, n.

1. The act of coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye; as, his sudden appearance surprised me.

2. The thing seen; a phenomenon; as an appearance in the sky.

3. Semblance; apparent likeness.

There was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire. Num 9.

4. External show; semblance assumed, in opposition to reality or substance; as, we are often deceived by appearances; he has the appearance of virtue.

For man looketh on the outward appearance. 1 Sam 16

5. Personal presence; exhibition of the person; as, he made his first appearance at court or on the stage.

6. Exhibition of the character; introduction of a person to the public in a particular character, as a person makes his appearance in the world, as a historian, an artist, or an orator.

7. Probability; likelihood. This sense is rather an inference from the third or fourth; as probability is inferred from external semblance or show.

8. Presence; mien; figure; as presented by the person, dress or manners; as, the lady made a noble appearance.

9. A being present in court; a defendant's filing common or special bail to a process.

10. An apparition.

a-per'-ans (mar'eh; chiefly used of the mystic and supernatural visions of Ezekiel and Daniel): A semblance, as of lightning, wheels, sapphire stone (Eze 1:14,16,26); Gabriel's overpowering revelation (Da 8:15; see also Da 10:6,18). In the New Testament refers exclusively, through three Greek words, prosopon, "sight," "countenance," to "outward appearance" (2Co 10:7 the King James Version); and its possibly deceptive nature: opsis, "Judge not according to appearance." (Joh 7:24); "them that glory in appearance." (2Co 5:12; compare 1Sa 16:7). See also 1Th 2:12, the English Revised Version, margin (eidos = "sight").