apocalypse
/əˈpɒkəˌlɪps/uh-PO-kuh-lips
/əˈpɑkəˌlɪps/uh-PAH-kuh-lips
Meaningan uncovering
Common meaning: a catastrophic end
- apoGreek: away, off
- calypto cover, hideLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 292 · scan
- severb ending (part of the stem)
‘away, off’ + ‘to cover, hide’ → apocalypse
Journey through time
- Greekκαλύπτω‘to cover, hide’
- Middle Englishapocalipssource
- Englishapocalypse‘a catastrophic end’ · today
apo- also in: apocopeapostleapoplexyapostropheapothecary
calyp also in: eucalyptus
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek καλύπτω ‘to cover, hide’.
Roots
- καλύπτω Greek “to cover, hide”
Related words
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