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juggernaut - 6 dictionary results
Jug⋅ger⋅naut
[juhg-er-nawt, -not] 
–noun
| 1. | (often lowercase ) any large, overpowering, destructive force or object, as war, a giant battleship, or a powerful football team. |
| 2. | (often lowercase) anything requiring blind devotion or cruel sacrifice. |
| 3. | Also called Jagannath. an idol of Krishna, at Puri in Orissa, India, annually drawn on an enormous cart under whose wheels devotees are said to have thrown themselves to be crushed. |
Origin:
1630–40; < Hindi Jagannāth < Skt Jagannātha lord of the world (i.e., the god Vishnu or Krishna), equiv. to jagat world + nātha lord
1630–40; < Hindi Jagannāth < Skt Jagannātha lord of the world (i.e., the god Vishnu or Krishna), equiv. to jagat world + nātha lord
Related forms:
Jug⋅ger⋅naut⋅ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To juggernaut
| jug·ger·naut (jŭg'ər-nôt') n.
[Hindi jagannāth, title of Krishna, from Sanskrit jagannāthaḥ, lord of the world : jagat, moving, the world (from earlier present participle of jigāti, he goes; see gwā- in Indo-European roots) + nāthaḥ, lord (from nāthate, he helps, protects). Senses 1 and 2, from the fact that worshipers have thrown themselves under the wheels of a huge car or wagon on which the idol of Krishna was drawn in an annual procession at Puri in east-central India.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Juggernaut
Jug"ger*naut`\, n. [Skr. jagann[=a]tha lord of the world.] One of the names under which Vishnu, in his incarnation as Krishna, is worshiped by the Hindoos. [Written also Juggernnath, Jaganath, Jaganatha, etc.] Note: The principal seat of the worship of Juggernaut is at P[^u]ri in Orissa. At certain times the idol is drawn from the temple by the multitude, on a high car with sixteen wheels. Formerly, fanatics sometimes threw themselves under the wheels to be crushed as a sacrifice to the god.Juggernaut
Jug"ger*naut\ [Hind. Jagan-n[=a]th lord of the world, Skr. jagann[=a]tha.] (Hinduism) A particular form of Vishnu, or of Krishna, whose chief idol and worship are at Puri, in Orissa. The idol is considered to contain the bones of Krishna and to possess a soul. The principal festivals are the Snanayatra, when the idol is bathed, and the Rathayatra, when the image is drawn upon a car adorned with obscene paintings. Formerly it was erroneously supposed that devotees allowed themselves to be crushed beneath the wheels of this car. It is now known that any death within the temple of Jagannath is considered to render the place unclean, and any spilling of blood in the presence of the idol is a pollution.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Juggernaut [(jug-uhr-nawt)]
A deity in Hinduism, considered a deliverer from sin. His image is carried on a large wagon in an annual procession in India, and according to legend the wagon crushed worshipers who threw themselves under it.
Note: A force, an idea, or a system of beliefs that overcomes opposition — especially if it does so ruthlessly — is called a “juggernaut.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
juggernaut
1638, "huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna," especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, lit. "lord of the world," from Skt. jagat "world" + natha-s "lord, master." The first European description of the festival is by Friar Odoric (c.1321). Fig. sense of "anything that demands blind devotion or merciless sacrifice" is from 1854.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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