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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Event \E*vent"\, n. [L. eventus, fr. evenire to happen, come
out; e out venire to come. See {Come}.]
1. That which comes, arrives, or happens; that which falls
out; any incident, good or bad. "The events of his early
years." --Macaulay.
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To watch quietly the course of events. --Jowett
(Thucyd. )
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There is one event to the righteous, and to the
wicked. --Eccl. ix. 2.
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2. An affair in hand; business; enterprise. [Obs.] "Leave we
him to his events." --Shak.
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3. The consequence of anything; the issue; conclusion;
result; that in which an action, operation, or series of
operations, terminates.
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Dark doubts between the promise and event. --Young.

Syn: Incident; occurrence; adventure; issue; result;
termination; consequence; conclusion.

Usage: {Event}, {Occurrence}, {Incident}, {Circumstance}. An
event denotes that which arises from a preceding state
of things. Hence we speak or watching the event; of
tracing the progress of events. An occurrence has no
reference to any antecedents, but simply marks that
which meets us in our progress through life, as if by
chance, or in the course of divine providence. The
things which thus meet us, if important, are usually
connected with antecedents; and hence event is the
leading term. In the "Declaration of Independence" it
is said, "When, in the cource of human events, it
becomes necessary." etc. Here, occurrences would be
out of place. An incident is that which falls into a
state of things to which is does not primarily belong;
as, the incidents of a journey. The term is usually
applied to things of secondary importance. A
circumstance is one of the things surrounding us in
our path of life. These may differ greatly in
importance; but they are always outsiders, which
operate upon us from without, exerting greater or less
influence according to their intrinsic importance. A
person giving an account of a campaign might dwell on
the leading events which it produced; might mention
some of its striking occurrences; might allude to some
remarkable incidents which attended it; and might give
the details of the favorable or adverse circumstances
which marked its progress.
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Event \E*vent"\, v. t. [F. ['e]venter to fan, divulge, LL.
eventare to fan, fr., L. e out ventus wind.]
To break forth. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
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