deluge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdɛl.juː(d)ʒ/ (UK); /ˈdɛl.ju(d)ʒ/, /ˈdɛ.lu(d)ʒ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English deluge,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French deluge, earlier deluve,^[2][4][5][6] from Latin dīluvium (“flood, inundation”),^{[2][4][5][7][6]} from dīluere “to wash away”,^[2][4][5][7] from dis- “away” and -luere, a combining form of lavere “to wash”.^[2][4][5][7] It is related to dilute and antediluvian.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A great flood or overflowing of water, a destructive inundation (c. 1374 in the OED; about 1380 in Barnhart).^[9][4][5]

Semantic evolution

From about 1386 it was used specifically of Noah's Flood,^[9][4][5] also called the general or universal deluge.^[9] Figurative uses, anything that overwhelms like a flood, date from the early 15th century,^[5][9] and in Middle English included a great danger or the flood of death.^[3] The verb, to flood or inundate, appears in the 1590s (1593 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1649 in the OED),^[5][4][7][9] and figuratively, to overwhelm with great numbers, from the 1650s.^[5][9] The saying après moi le déluge, “after me, the deluge”, is ascribed to Louis XV.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1374 – a great flood.^[9]
• c. 1386 – Noah's Flood.^[9]
• c. 1430 – figuratively, an overwhelming quantity.^[9]
• 1593 – verb, to inundate.^[4][7]
• 1654 – verb, to overwhelm.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A great flood of water; an inundation.
2. A heavy, drenching downpour.
3. An overwhelming amount or number, as in a deluge of mail.
4. the Deluge: the Flood in the time of Noah.

Verb

1. To flood with water; to inundate.
2. To overwhelm with a large number or amount; to swamp.

Word family

• undeluged

Related words

• antediluvian
• dilute
• lave
• lavatory
• diluvial

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press