Definition: Recognition of images in random patterns, such as the rabbit in the sky
Pronunciation: pa-REI-do-lia
Origin:
Pareidolia stems from the Greek words para meaning instead (in this context interpreted as faulty or wrong) and the noun eidolon meaning image.
Why this word?
I am sure you all remember spotting imaginary figures in clouds, shadows, waters or anywhere else possible. This great phenomenon is called pareidolia and it is a great word to have mainly as it is one of a kind!
Moreover, pareidolia is sometimes considered as a harbinger of news, signaling events to be positive or negative completely depending on the type of pareidolia. I can recall one of the last popes’ inauguration after which a Jesus-like figure was seen in the sky by many a believer. You can guess what news they thought it signaled!
How to use the word Pareidolia in a sentence?
Next time you spot an ice-cream in the clouds, call it your pareidolia.
“Everyone knows that I’m a bit of a connoisseur of pareidolia.”
“Among the religious, a particularly common strain of pareidolia is to see Jesus or Mary in patterns on anything from pancakes, to windows, to trees and even MRI scans”
