cataclysme

Forms

cataclysme m (plural cataclysmes)^[1] Middle French cataclisme (1553).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cataclysmos (“deluge”), also cataclysmus, which was also used figuratively for “destruction” in the Itala.^[2][3][1][5] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek κατακλυσμός (kataklusmós, “flood, inundation”), a noun from κατακλύζω (kataklúzō, “to inundate”), formed with κατά (katá) and κλύζω (klúzō, “to wash, to pour water”).^[3][6][7] Rey connects the Greek verb with Latin cloāca, the source of cloaque, and with the word behind clystère.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as cataclisme in 1553, in Des Autels's Amoureux repos, used figuratively for a “deluge”.^[2][3] Littré quotes a 16th-century use for the Flood of Noah: “avant le general cataclisme advenu du temps de Noé”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

After its first figurative use, the word came to name a great upheaval of the Earth's surface caused by a destructive natural event such as a flood or an earthquake;^[3][6][2] Littré still gave as its first sense a great flood, especially the biblical Deluge.^[3][6][2] From 1845 (Bescherelle) it also expresses a deep social, economic or psychological upheaval, and it is used jokingly of a person who causes great disorder.^[3][8] The adjective cataclysmique followed in 1863, in geology and in general use.^[3][2]

The English word cataclysm was taken from French in the 1630s, first for a deluge and especially Noah's Flood.^[9]

Timeline

• 1553 – Cataclisme appears in Des Autels's Amoureux repos.^[2]
• 1630s – English borrows it as cataclysm.^[9]
• 1845 – Bescherelle records the figurative sense “upheaval”.^[3][8]
• 1863 – The derivative cataclysmique is recorded by Littré.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A great upheaval of the Earth's surface caused by a destructive natural event, such as an earthquake, a flood or a cyclone.^[10][11][2]
2. (figurative) A disaster, a complete upheaval in a state, a society or a person's life.^[10][11]

Related words

• cataclysmique
• catastrophe
• clystère
• Ancient Greek κατακλυσμός (kataklusmós)
• English cataclysm

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 486a
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)