epiphenomenon

American  

[ep-uh-fuh-nom-uh-non, -nuhn] / ˌɛp ə fəˈnɒm əˌnɒn, -nən /

noun

plural

epiphenomena, epiphenomenons

1. Pathology. a secondary or additional symptom or complication arising during the course of a disease.

2. any secondary phenomenon.

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epiphenomenon British  

/ ˌɛpɪfɪˈnɒmɪnən /

noun

1. a secondary or additional phenomenon; by-product

2. pathol an unexpected or atypical symptom or occurrence during the course of a disease

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Other Word Forms

• epiphenomenal adjective
• epiphenomenally adverb

Etymology

Origin of epiphenomenon

First recorded in 1700–10; epi- + phenomenon

Example Sentences

Physicists, notably Eugene Wigner and John Wheeler, have speculated that consciousness, far from being a mere epiphenomenon of matter, is an essential component of reality.

From Scientific American • Sep. 27, 2021

Because the stories focus on the fugitive, much of the viciousness of slavery is displaced onto the slave-catcher—an odious figure, to be sure, but ultimately an epiphenomenon of an odious system.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 15, 2016

There is a lot of reading between the lines to be done with these letters, which allow only occasional glimpses of the life of which they were an epiphenomenon.

From Slate • Dec. 2, 2015

And they say, ‘Well, nowhere, because that’s an epiphenomenon and not really important,’ whereas in fact those are the only things that are really important.”

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2012

In this view, people are biological machines - consciousness is an interesting and valuable epiphenomenon, but mind is implemented in machinery which is not fundamentally different in information-processing capacity from computers.

From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.