catastrophic
/ˌkætəˈstɹɒfɪk/ka-tuh-STRAH-fik
/ˌkætəˈstɹɑfɪk/ka-tuh-STRAH-fik
Meaningrelating to catastrophe
Common meaning: relating to catastrophe (inferred)
- catadown (Greek kata)
- strophto turnLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1438 · scan
- icadjective ending: relating to
‘down (Greek kata)’ + ‘to turn’ → catastrophic
Journey through time
- Greekστρέφω‘to turn’
- Englishcatastrophe‘a sudden disaster’
- Englishformed in English from catastrophecatastrophic‘relating to catastrophe (inferred)’ · today
Sources & notes
Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: relating to catastrophe. It can be inferred from any of: catastrophe.
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: Formed in English from catastrophe + -ic (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).
Roots
- στρέφω Greek “to turn”
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