CATASTROPHE

calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy, cataclysm

(noun) an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; “the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity”; “the earthquake was a disaster”

catastrophe, cataclysm

(noun) a sudden violent change in the earth’s surface

catastrophe, disaster

(noun) a state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune; “lack of funds has resulted in a catastrophe for our school system”; “his policies were a disaster”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

catastrophe (plural catastrophes)

any large and disastrous event of great significance

(insurance) a disaster beyond expectations

(narratology) the dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement

(mathematics) a type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states

Source: Wiktionary

Ca*tas"tro*phe, n. Etym: [L. catastropha, Gr.

1. An event producing a subversion of the order or system of things; a final event, usually of a calamitous or disastrous nature; hence, sudden calamity; great misfortune. The strange catastrophe of affairs now at London. Bp. Buret. The most horrible and portentous catastrophe that nature ever yet saw. Woodward.

2. The final event in a romance or a dramatic piece; a denouement, as a death in a tragedy, or a marriage in a comedy.

3. (Geol.)

Definition: A violent and widely extended change in the surface of the earth, as, an elevation or subsidence of some part of it, effected by internal causes. Whewell.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition