cataclysm
/ˈkætəˌklɪzm̩/ noun
Forms cataclysms
- noun A sudden, violent event.
- noun (geology) A sudden and violent change in the earth's crust.
- noun A great flood.
Synonyms
Etymology
From French cataclysme, from Latin cataclysmus, from Ancient Greek κατακλυσμός (kataklusmós, “deluge, flood”), from κατακλύζω (kataklúzō, “to dash over, flood, deluge, inundate”), from κατά (katá, “downwards, towards”) + κλύζω (klúzō, “to wash off, to wash away, to dash over”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun An extensive overflow or sweeping flood of water; a deluge.
- noun Any violent catastrophe, involving sudden and extensive changes of the earth's surface.
Etymology [L. cataclysmos, Gr. cataclysme.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cataclysm”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details