On a linguistic level, this word comes from the Greek “epi-,” meaning “on, upon, above,” and the Greek “phainomenon,” meaning “that which appears or is seen.” The basic explanation of “epiphenomenon” is that it is a result of or co-occurs with a primary activity, but it doesn’t influence or cause the primary activity. For example, steam is an epiphenomenon of a pot of boiling water. It occurs because of or with the boiling water, but it doesn’t impact the boiling water. The term “epiphenomenon” is used in philosophy, computing, medicine, and many other fields in contexts that would be too complicated to explain here, but the fundamental definition is the same.