pandemonium

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌpæn.dɪˈməʊ.ni.əm/ (UK); /ˌpæn.dəˈmoʊ.ni.əm/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It was coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost (1667) as Pandæmonium,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek πᾶν (pân, “all”)^[2][3][4][5] and Late Latin daemonium (“evil spirit”),^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον (daimónion), from daímōn “lesser god”.^[2][3][4] It is related to demon.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The palace built in the middle of Hell, “the high capital of Satan and all his peers”, and the home of all the demons (1667).^[4][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Milton's name for the capital of Hell was soon applied to any place resembling it,^[6] such as a haunt of wickedness.^[6] From 1779 it meant a place of wild uproar and disorder,^[6][3][4] and from 1865 wild, lawless confusion itself.^[6][4] Only the last sense is now common, and it is usually written without a capital.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 1667 – Pandæmonium, Milton's capital of Hell.^[6][4][5]
• 1779 – a place of wild uproar.^[6][3][4]
• 1807–8 – a gambling hell.^[6]
• 1865 – wild confusion or uproar.^[6][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Wild uproar, noise or disorder; chaos.
2. A very noisy or chaotic place.
3. (often capitalized) The capital of Hell in Paradise Lost, or Hell itself.

Word family

• pandemoniac
• pandemonian

Related words

• demon
• daemon
• bedlam
• chaos

References

1. ^ a b 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 c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ 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