catastrophe
See also: catastrophé and catastrophë
English
Alternative forms
- catastrophë (now rare)
Etymology
From Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ), from καταστρέφω (katastréphō, “I overturn”), from κατά (katá, “down, against”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “I turn”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /kəˈtæstɹəfi/
Audio (GA) (file) - Hyphenation: ca‧tas‧tro‧phe
Noun
catastrophe (plural catastrophes)
- Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
- 1913, H. G. Wells, “The New Source of Energy”, in The World Set Free, New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, pages 54–55:
- Between these high lights accumulated disaster, social catastrophe.
- 1964, Nikos Kazantzakis; Michael Cacoyannis, Zorba the Greek, spoken by Alexis Zorba (Anthony Quinn):
- Am I not a man? And is a man not stupid? I'm a man, so I married. Wife, children, house, everything. The full catastrophe.
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- (insurance) A disaster beyond expectations.
- (narratology) The dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.
- c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 286, column 2:
- Pat : he comes like the Cataſtrophe of the old Comedie : my Cue is villanous Melancholly, with a ſighe like Tom o’ Bedlam.
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- (mathematics) A type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
any large and disastrous event of great significance
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disaster beyond expectations
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Ancient Greek tragedies: the solution of the plot
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mathematics: type of bifurcation
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Dutch
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin catastropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek καταστροφή (katastrophḗ).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ka.tas.tʁɔf/
Audio (file)
Synonyms
- cata (informal)
Derived terms
Verb
catastrophe
- inflection of catastropher:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “catastrophe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
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