Chernobyl
UK /tʃɜːˈnɒbəl/ · US /t͡ʃɚˈnoʊbəl/ proper noun, noun
Forms Chernobyls Chornobyl
- proper noun A partially abandoned city and ghost town in northern Ukraine, known as the site of a nuclear disaster.
- proper noun (by extension) The 1986 nuclear accident which resulted in the abandonment of the aforementioned city. “After Chernobyl, very few nuclear power plants were built for years.”
- proper noun The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the location where the accident occurred. “Although it no longer produces electricity, many people still work at Chernobyl decommissioning the plant.”
- noun (by extension) A major nuclear-energy accident.
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian Черно́быль (Černóbylʹ). The place name is from Russian чернобыль (černobylʹ), meaning “mugwort” or “wormwood”. Doublet of Chornobyl, from the Ukrainian cognate.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Chernobyl”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details