catastrophe English · revision 2370

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈtæstɹəfi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|catastropha]],^(Etymonline) [[der|grc|καταστροφή|tr=katastrophḗ|t=an overturning; a sudden end]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''katastréphein'' “to overturn”,^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(AHD) [[af|grc|κατα-|στρέφειν|tr1=kata-|tr2=stréphein|t1=down|t2=to turn]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The turn of events that brings about the conclusion of a drama, especially a tragedy; the dénouement.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster and Barnhart date it to 1540, Etymonline to the 1530s and the OED's first quotation to 1579.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dramatic “overturning” was often a reversal of what was expected.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) From the end of a play the word passed to any final event, usually an unhappy one (1601),^(OED 1989) then to an event that overturns the order of things (1696),^(OED 1989) and in 1748 to a sudden, widespread disaster,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) which is now the main sense.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) The OED notes that it is often used in exaggerated language for ordinary misfortunes,^(OED 1989) hence the sense “fiasco”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1540 – the concluding action of a drama.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1597 – ''(humorous)'' the buttocks (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1601 – a disastrous end or conclusion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1696 – an event that overturns the order of things.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1748 – a sudden, widespread disaster.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1832 – ''(geology)'' a sudden violent change in the earth's surface.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1837 – ''catastrophic''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1969 – ''catastrophe theory'' in mathematics.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A great and often sudden calamity or disaster.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A complete failure; a fiasco.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # The concluding action of a drama, especially a tragedy, that resolves the plot.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(geology)'' A sudden violent change in a feature of the earth.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[catastrophic]]

+ * [[catastrophically]]

+ * [[catastrophe theory]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[anastrophe]]

+ * [[apostrophe]]

+ * [[cataclysm]]

+ * [[catastrophism]]

+ * [[strophe]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}