havoc

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhævək/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English havok,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman havok, from the phrase crier havok “to cry havoc”,^[2][4][5][6] a variant of Old French havot (“plundering, looting”).^[2][3][4][5] The Old French word is of Germanic origin,^[2][4][6] though Etymonline also allows a source in Latin habēre “to have”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the phrase cry havoc, the order given to an army as the signal to seize plunder (1385).^[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Crying “havoc!” let soldiers loose to plunder and slaughter,^[7][5][1] and from this the noun took on the general sense “devastation, destruction” by 1480.^[7][4][5] Phrases such as make havoc and play havoc with kept something of the older idea of spoiling.^[7][6] The verb, “to lay waste”, followed in 1577.^[7][3]

Timeline

• 1385 – cry havoc, the signal for pillage.^[7]
• 1419 – as havoke.^[4]
• 1480 – devastation, destruction.^[7][4]
• 1577 – verb, to devastate, lay waste.^[7][3]
• 1796 – verb, to make havoc.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Widespread destruction; devastation.
2. Great confusion and disorder.

Verb

1. To lay waste; to destroy or pillage.

Word family

• havocker

Usage notes

The noun is most often used in the set phrase wreak havoc.^[1] The verb's inflected forms are usually spelled havocked and havocking.^[1]

References

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