juggernaut
UK /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.ə.nɔːt/ · US /ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.ɚ.nɔt/ noun, proper noun
Also a form of Jagannath
Forms juggernauts Jaganaut Jagarynat Jagganaut Jaggernaut Jagnaut Juggurnaut
- noun A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.
- noun (UK, Ireland, sometimes derogatory) A large, cumbersome truck or lorry, especially an articulated lorry.
- noun An institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.
- proper noun (Hinduism, historical, archaic) Jagannath, the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed in the 17th century into British English in India, either through Hindustani جَگَنَّاتھ (jagannāth) / जगन्नाथ (jagannāth) or directly from Odia ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ (jagannātha), ultimately from Sanskrit ज॒ग॒न्ना॒थ (jagannāthá, “lord of universe”) (Jagannatha), a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna. The sense comes from witnessing the Rath Yatra (chariot parade) at Puri, Odisha, a huge annual procession which features a wagon of the idol of Jagannath; pulled with ropes by hundreds of devotees, the wagon develops considerable momentum and becomes unstoppable. The r was not originally pronounced: for non-rhotic dialects of British English, the spelling with -er- accurately suggests the Hindi-Urdu pronunciation of the second vowel (a schwa ə); compare e.g. gorm. The spelling of the ending was influenced by the suffix -naut (“traveller, voyager”). Doublet of Jagannath.
See juggernaut.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A particular form of Vishnu, or of Krishna, whose chief idol and worship are at Puri, in Orissa. The idol is considered to contain the bones of Krishna and to possess a soul. The principal festivals are the Snanayatra, when the idol is bathed, and the Rathayatra, when the image is drawn upon a car adorned with obscene paintings.
- noun One of the names under which Vishnu, in his incarnation as Krishna, is worshiped by the Hindoos. [Written also Juggernnath, Jaganath, Jaganatha, etc.]
Etymology [Skr. jagannatha lord of the world.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “juggernaut”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details