cataclysm
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- cataclasm (dated)
Etymology[edit]
From French cataclysme, from Latin cataclysmus, from Ancient Greek κατακλυσμός (kataklusmós, “deluge, flood”), from κατακλύζω (kataklúzō, “to dash over, flood, deluge, inundate”), from κατά (katá, “downwards, towards”) + κλύζω (klúzō, “to wash off, to wash away, to dash over”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
cataclysm (plural cataclysms)
- A sudden, violent event.
- 2007, Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, →ISBN, page 427:
- While the disaster capitalism complex does not deliberately scheme to create cataclysms on which it feeds (though Iraq may be a notable exception), there is plenty of evidence that its component industries work very hard indeed to make that current disastrous trends continue unchallenged.
- (geology) A sudden and violent change in the earth's crust.
- A great flood.
Usage notes[edit]
- Not to be confused with catechism.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
sudden, violent event
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sudden and violent change in the earth's crust
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Categories:
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- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
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- en:Geology
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