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debacle
6 dictionary results for: debacle
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·ba·cle       [dey-bah-kuhl, -bak-uhl, duh-] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.a general breakup or dispersion; sudden downfall or rout: The revolution ended in a debacle.
2.a complete collapse or failure.
3.a breaking up of ice in a river. Compare embacle.
4.a violent rush of waters or ice.
[Origin: 1795–1805; < F débâcle, deriv. of débâcler to unbar, clear, equiv. to dé- dis-1 + bâcler to bar ≪ L baculum stick, rod]

—Synonyms 2. disaster, ruin, fiasco, catastrophe, calamity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·ba·cle       (dĭ-bä'kəl, -bāk'əl, děb'ə-kəl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A sudden, disastrous collapse, downfall, or defeat; a rout.
  2. A total, often ludicrous failure.
  3. The breaking up of ice in a river.
  4. A violent flood.


[French débâcle, from débâcler, to unbar, from Old French desbacler : des-, de- + bacler, to bar (from Vulgar Latin *bacculāre, from Latin baculum, rod; see bak- in Indo-European roots).]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
debacle 
"disaster," 1848, fig. use of Fr. débâcle "breaking up of ice on a river," extended to the violent flood that follows when the river ice melts in spring, from débâcler "to free," from M.Fr. desbacler "to unbar," from des- "off" + bacler "to bar," from V.L. *bacculare, from L. baculum "stick." Sense of "disaster" was present in Fr. before Eng. borrowed the word.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
debacle

noun
1. a sudden and violent collapse 
2. flooding caused by a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river during the spring or summer 
3. a sound defeat [syn: thrashing] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Debacle

De*ba"cle\, n. [F. d['e]b[^a]cle, fr. d['e]b[^a]cler to unbar, break loose; pref. d['e]- (prob. = L. dis) + b[^a]cler to bolt, fr. L. baculum a stick.] (Geol.) A breaking or bursting forth; a violent rush or flood of waters which breaks down opposing barriers, and hurls forward and disperses blocks of stone and other d['e]bris.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Debacle

De*ba"cle\, n. A sudden breaking up or breaking loose; a violent dispersion or disruption; impetuous rush; outburst.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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