calamity - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: calamity

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·lam·i·ty

Audio Help [kuh-lam-i-tee] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -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 ME calamite < MF < L calamitāt- (s. of calamitās), perh. akin to incolumitās safety

]

—Synonyms 1. reverse, blow, catastrophe, cataclysm; mischance, mishap. See disaster.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
calamity

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ca·lam·i·ty Audio Help (kə-lām'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. ca·lam·i·ties

An event that brings terrible loss, lasting distress, or severe affliction; a disaster: A hurricane would be a calamity for this low-lying coastal region.
Dire distress resulting from loss or tragedy.

[Middle English calamite, from Old French, from Latin calamitās.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
calamity

c.1425, from M.Fr. calamite, from L. calamitatem (nom. calamitus) "damage, disaster, adversity," origin obscure. L. writers associated it with calamus "straw," but it is perhaps from a lost root preserved in incolumis "uninjured."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
calamity [kəˈlӕməti] noun — plural caˈlamities

a great misfortune
Example: It will be a calamity if he fails his exam.

Arabic:	نَكْبَةٌ، فاجِعَه
Chinese (Simplified):	灾难
Chinese (Traditional):	災難
Czech:	neštěstí, pohroma
Danish:	ulykke; katastrofe
Dutch:	ramp
Estonian:	suur õnnetus
Finnish:	katastrofi
French:	calamiteux
German:	das Unheil
Greek:	συμφορά
Hungarian:	csapás
Icelandic:	ógæfa, hörmulegt slys
Indonesian:	bencana
Italian:	calamità

Japanese:	災難
Latvian:	posts; liela nelaime; liksta
Lithuanian:	baisi nelaimė
Norwegian:	katastrofe, stor ulykke
Polish:	klęska
Portuguese (Brazil):	calamidade
Portuguese (Portugal):	calamidade
Romanian:	calamitate; nenorocire
Russian:	катастрофа
Slovak:	katastrofa
Slovenian:	katastrofa
Spanish:	calamidad
Swedish:	olycka, katastrof, elände
Turkish:	felâket, belâ

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Calamity

Ca*lam"i*ty\n.; pl. Calamities. [L. calamitas, akin to in-columis unharmed: cf. F. calamit['e]]

1. Any great misfortune or cause of misery; -- generally applied to events or disasters which produce extensive evil, either to communities or individuals.

Note: The word calamity was first derived from calamus when the corn could not get out of the stalk. --Bacon.

Strokes of calamity that scathe and scorch the soul. --W. Irving.

2. A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery.

The deliberations of calamity are rarely wise. --Burke.

Where'er I came I brought calamity. --Tennyson.

Syn: Disaster; distress; affliction; adversity; misfortune; unhappiness; infelicity; mishap; mischance; misery; evil; extremity; exigency; downfall.

Usage: Calamity, Disaster, Misfortune, Mishap, Mischance. Of these words, calamity is the strongest. It supposes a somewhat continuous state, produced not usually by the direct agency of man, but by natural causes, such as fire, flood, tempest, disease, etc, Disaster denotes literally ill-starred, and is some unforeseen and distressing event which comes suddenly upon us, as if from hostile planet. Misfortune is often due to no specific cause; it is simply the bad fortune of an individual; a link in the chain of events; an evil independent of his own conduct, and not to be charged as a fault. Mischance and mishap are misfortunes of a trivial nature, occurring usually to individuals. "A calamity is either public or private, but more frequently the former; a disaster is rather particular than private; it affects things rather than persons; journey, expedition, and military movements are often attended with disasters; misfortunes are usually personal; they immediately affect the interests of the individual." --Crabb.

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