climax English · revision 974

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklaɪ.mæks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|climax|t=rhetorical climax]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|κλῖμαξ|tr=klîmax|t=ladder]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) related to ''klínein'' “to lean”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In rhetoric, a figure in which a series of propositions rises step by step in force (1589).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The rhetorical figure was originally a chain of clauses in which the last word of one is repeated at the start of the next.^(Etymonline) The sense passed to the last term of such a series (1856) and, popularly, to the highest point of anything reached by gradual ascent (1789),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a usage the OED attributes to “popular ignorance”.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Later senses include the stable stage of an ecological community (1915) and sexual [[orgasm]] (by 1880 in Etymonline; 1918 in the OED).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The verb dates from 1835.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1589 – a rhetorical figure of ascending force.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1789 – the highest point, culmination.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – verb, to bring to a climax.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1915 – in ecology, a stable plant community.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1918 – orgasm (OED).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The point of greatest intensity in a series or progression; the [[culmination]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The decisive moment or turning point in a story or drama.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(rhetoric)'' A series of statements in ascending order of force, or the final statement of such a series.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An [[orgasm]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(ecology)'' A relatively stable community of organisms in equilibrium with its environment.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bring to or reach a climax.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[anticlimax]]

+ * [[climactic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[climacteric]]

+ * [[climate]]

+ * [[incline]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House lists ''summit'', ''zenith'', ''acme'' and ''apex'' as synonyms of the sense “highest point”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}