Where does “catastrophic” come from?
Catastrophic derives from English catastrophe, from Ancient Greek καταστροφή, from Ancient Greek καταστρέφω meaning to overturn or destroy, from Ancient Greek κατά meaning down and Proto-Indo-European ḱóm and ḱe.
catastrophic (English): Of or pertaining to a catastrophe; Disastrous;...
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to a catastrophe; Disastrous;...
Ancestry of “catastrophic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | -ic | Used to form adjectives from nouns with the... |
| 2 | English | image | An optical or other representation of a real... |
| 3 | French | image | picture, image; frame; first-person singular... |
| 4 | Portuguese | imagem | image; picture; figure; image; image; face |
| 5 | Spanish | imagen | image |
| 6 | Italian | immagine | image; imago |
| 7 | Latin | imāginem | — |
| 8 | Latin | im- | Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in |
| 9 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 10 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 11 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |