illapse

/ɪˈlæps/

Etymology

From Latin illapsus (“a falling, gliding, or flowing in; an irruption”); from illābor (“to fall, to slide”) + -tus (“suffix forming action nouns from verbs”).

Why this word is great

ILLAPSE — [Noun] A gliding or flowing in; the act of one thing entering another, or a sudden descent or attack. From Latin illapsus ("a falling, gliding, or flowing in; an irruption"), from illābor ("to fall, to slide") + -tus ("suffix forming action nouns from verbs"). Unlike "elapse" (which marks time's indifferent passage) or "irruption" (which suggests a violent breach), "illapse" carries the quiet inevitability of an unforced arrival. It is the slow seep of fog into a valley at dusk, the way a thought slips unbidden into the mind, or the moment a predator's shadow crosses the grass before the strike—each a silent, fatal trespass. The world moves not only by force, but by surrender.

noun

A gliding in; an immission or entrance of one thing into another.“The illapſe of some pre-existent or animating formative Principle, which we may well call the Soul or Anima, that as in the Generation of Mankind by ordinary procreation we ſee the formative power is ſome refined active Spirit or Soul in ſemine deliteſcens, that faſhions the Matter, and actuates it with vital ſenſible Faculties and Operations; ſo the illapſe of ſome ſuch active ſubſtance or powerf”
A sudden descent or attack.“[…] That as a piece of Iron red hot by reaſon of the Illapſe of the fire into it appears all over like fire; ſo the Souls of the Bleſſed by this Illapſe of the Divine Eſſence into them ſhall be all over Divine.”

verb

Usually followed by into: to fall or glide; to pass.“The illapſe of some pre-existent or animating formative Principle, which we may well call the Soul or Anima, that as in the Generation of Mankind by ordinary procreation we ſee the formative power is ſome refined active Spirit or Soul in ſemine deliteſcens, that faſhions the Matter, and actuates it with vital ſenſible Faculties and Operations; ſo the illapſe of ſome ſuch active ſubſtance or powerf”