Where does “anticlimax” come from?
Anticlimax derives from Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-, "against") combined with climax, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to lean" and "to turn."
anticlimax (English): A failed or reverse climax, "particularly"
Definitions
- A failed or reverse climax, "particularly"
Ancestry of “anticlimax”, step by step
anticlimax traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English climax
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | climax | A rhetorical device in which a series is arranged... |
| 2 | Latin | clīmax | climax |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | κλῖμαξ | ladder; staircase; torture instrument shaped like... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | κλίνω | to bend, slant; to cause to give way, cause to... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱley- | to shelter, cover; to lean, slope, incline |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱel- | to cover; to incline |
via Dutch climax
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | climax | climax (culmination of a narrative's rising action) |