Catastrophe

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Dr. Goodword
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Catastrophe

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat Sep 06, 2014 10:40 pm

• catastrophe •

Pronunciation: kê-tæs-trê-fee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A calamity, cataclysm, a disaster of enormous proportions, involving great destruction or suffering. 2. A fiasco, an enormous falilure.

Notes: The important point to keep in mind is that the final [e] on this word is not silent as final [e]s usually are in English. The word has an adjective, catastrophic, which may be extended to catastrophical. Simply add -ly to the latter for the adverb. The verb, catastrophize, is a recent addition to this word's family with a rather peculiar meaning: "to characterize or interpret as disastrous". It is easy to catastrophize the results of the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion.

In Play: The attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001 by Muslim extremists was the greatest nonwartime catastrophe in US history. Hurricane Katrina, which struck southern Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005, certainly ranks among the greatest natural catastrophes of US history.

Word History: Today's word is Greek katastrophe "an overturning, ruin, conclusion", transliterated letter for letter from Greek. The Greek word is made up of kata- "down, against, apart" + strophe "a turn", and comes from the verb katastrephein "to ruin, undo". While English was tracing Greek words, it also copied strophe "stanza, group of repeated lines in poetry", without the prefix kata-. One final word from this root is strobos "whirling, whirlwind", which we at least Anglicized into strobe for strobe light.

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Slava
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Re: Catastrophe

Postby Slava » Tue Feb 06, 2024 10:51 pm

An intriguing should-be-antonym is anastrophe. Cata- and Ana- often mean the opposite of each other, but this one means simply a reversal of word order for rhetorical effect.

As to the verb; I get a feeling of exaggeration from catastrophizing, don't you? When we catastrophize, we are going overboard and making things sound worse than they actually are. With a dose of insincerity, to boot. Any takers?
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Debbymoge
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Re: Catastrophe

Postby Debbymoge » Wed Feb 07, 2024 1:47 pm

" It is easy to catastrophize the results of the greenhouse effect and ozone depletion."
For some reason that "sounded" to me to be an example of Slava's comment: "When we catastrophize, we are going overboard and making things sound worse than they actually are."
Perhaps I have misunderstood? If so, please, Good Doctor, correct me. However, if that is the intent, I would most certainly take exception to the assertion.
We cannot sufficiently appreciate the damage we've done and continue to do.
I know, this is off topic, but...
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