calamity
Use Calamity in a sentence
ɪ noun, plural ca·lam·i·ties.
1.
a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or serious injury.
2.
grievous affliction; adversity; misery: the calamity of war.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English calamite < Middle French < Latin calamitāt- (stem of calamitās), perhaps akin to incolumitās safety
1375–1425; late Middle English calamite < Middle French < Latin calamitāt- (stem of calamitās), perhaps akin to incolumitās safety
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To calamity
Collins
World English Dictionary
calamity (kəˈlæmɪtɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -ties | |
| 1. | a disaster or misfortune, esp one causing extreme havoc, distress, or misery |
| 2. | a state or feeling of deep distress or misery |
| [C15: from French calamité, from Latin calamitās; related to Latin incolumis uninjured] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Calamity
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
calamity
early 15c., from M.Fr. calamite (14c.), from L. calamitatem (nom. calamitas) "damage, loss, failure; disaster, misfortune, adversity," origin obscure. L. writers associated it with calamus "straw," but it is perhaps from a lost root preserved in incolumis "uninjured."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
There, especially in the wake of disaster, it often serves as a cruel second calamity.
Then the clamor subsides and the victims of tragedy are forgotten-until the next calamity.
No one as a result of those letters was even frightened, let alone suffering any great calamity.
People want to cast this as some horrible calamity and that's not true.
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