disaster

disaster
/di zas"teuhr, -zah"steuhr/, n.
1. a calamitous event, esp. one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood, airplane crash, or business failure.
2. Obs. an unfavorable aspect of a star or planet.
[1585-95; < MF desastre < It disastro, equiv. to dis- DIS-1 + astro star < L astrum < Gk ástron]
Syn. 1. mischance, misfortune, misadventure, mishap, accident, blow, reverse, adversity, affliction. DISASTER, CALAMITY, CATASTROPHE, CATACLYSM refer to adverse happenings often occurring suddenly and unexpectedly. A DISASTER may be caused by carelessness, negligence, bad judgment, or the like, or by natural forces, as a hurricane or flood: a railroad disaster. CALAMITY suggests great affliction, either personal or general; the emphasis is on the grief or sorrow caused: the calamity of losing a child.
CATASTROPHE refers esp. to the tragic outcome of a personal or public situation; the emphasis is on the destruction or irreplaceable loss: the catastrophe of a defeat in battle. CATACLYSM, physically an earth-shaking change, refers to a personal or public upheaval of unparalleled violence: a cataclysm that turned his life in a new direction.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Disaster — Dis*as ter, n. [F. d[ e]sastre; pref. d[ e]s (L. dis ) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See {Aster}, {Astral}, {Star}.] 1. An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • disaster — [di zas′tər, dizäs′tər; ] also [ dis as′tər, disäs′tər] n. [OFr desastre < It disastro < L dis + astrum < Gr astron (see ASTRAL), star: from astrological notions: cf. ILL STARRED] any happening that causes great harm or damage; serious… …   English World dictionary

  • Disaster — Dis*as ter, v. t. 1. To blast by the influence of a baleful star. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] 2. To bring harm upon; to injure. [R.] Thomson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • disaster — 1590s, from M.Fr. désastre (1560s), from It. disastro ill starred, from dis , here merely pejorative (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + astro star, planet, from L. astrum, from Gk. astron (see STAR (Cf. star)). The sense is astrological, of a calamity blamed …   Etymology dictionary

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  • disaster — ► NOUN 1) a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life. 2) an event or fact leading to ruin or failure. ORIGIN Italian disastro ill starred event , from Latin astrum star …   English terms dictionary

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