Etymologically
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catastrophe

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈtæstɹəfi/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin catastropha,[2] from Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ, “an overturning; a sudden end”),[3][4][5][2] from katastréphein “to overturn”,[4][2][3] from Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-, “down”) + στρέφειν (stréphein, “to turn”).[3][4][5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The turn of events that brings about the conclusion of a drama, especially a tragedy; the dénouement.[6][5][2] Merriam-Webster and Barnhart date it to 1540, Etymonline to the 1530s and the OED's first quotation to 1579.[4][5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

The dramatic “overturning” was often a reversal of what was expected.[5][2] From the end of a play the word passed to any final event, usually an unhappy one (1601),[6] then to an event that overturns the order of things (1696),[6] and in 1748 to a sudden, widespread disaster,[6][5][2] which is now the main sense.[7][1] The OED notes that it is often used in exaggerated language for ordinary misfortunes,[6] hence the sense “fiasco”.[3][4][7]

Timeline

  • 1540 – the concluding action of a drama.[5][4]
  • 1597 – (humorous) the buttocks (obsolete).[6]
  • 1601 – a disastrous end or conclusion.[6]
  • 1696 – an event that overturns the order of things.[6]
  • 1748 – a sudden, widespread disaster.[6][5][2]
  • 1832 – (geology) a sudden violent change in the earth's surface.[6]
  • 1837 – catastrophic.[5]
  • 1969 – catastrophe theory in mathematics.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A great and often sudden calamity or disaster.
  2. A complete failure; a fiasco.
  3. The concluding action of a drama, especially a tragedy, that resolves the plot.
  4. (geology) A sudden violent change in a feature of the earth.

Word family

  • catastrophic
  • catastrophically
  • catastrophe theory

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House