disaster

disaster
\ \ [16] The word disaster has astrological connotations. It comes, perhaps via French désastre, from Italian disastro; this was a backformation from disastrato, literally ‘ill-starred’, a compound adjective formed from the pejorative prefix dis- and astrostar’, a descendant of Latin astrumstar’. This in turn came from Greek astronstar’, source of English astronomy and related to English star. So the underlying meaning of the word is ‘malevolent astral influence’. Provençal has the parallel malastremisfortune’.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • disaster — di‧sas‧ter [dɪˈzɑːstə ǁ dɪˈzæstər] noun [countable, uncountable] 1. a sudden event such as a flood, storm, or accident which causes great damage or suffering: • 100 people died in the mining disaster. • Hurricane Katrina was the worst natural… …   Financial and business terms

  • disaster — disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm are comparable when they denote an event or situation that is regarded as a terrible misfortune. A disaster is an unforeseen mischance or misadventure (as a shipwreck, a serious railroad accident, or the …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Disaster — Dis*as ter, n. [F. d[ e]sastre; pref. d[ e]s (L. dis ) + astre star, fr. L. astrum; a word of astrological origin. See {Aster}, {Astral}, {Star}.] 1. An unpropitious or baleful aspect of a planet or star; malevolent influence of a heavenly body;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • disaster — I noun adversity, affliction, bale, bane, blight, blunder, breakdown, brutum fulmen, calamitas, calamity, casualty, cataclysm, catastrophe, clades, collapse, contretemps, crushing reverse, deabacle, devastation, downfall, emergency, extremity,… …   Law dictionary

  • disaster — [di zas′tər, dizäs′tər; ] also [ dis as′tər, disäs′tər] n. [OFr desastre < It disastro < L dis + astrum < Gr astron (see ASTRAL), star: from astrological notions: cf. ILL STARRED] any happening that causes great harm or damage; serious… …   English World dictionary

  • Disaster — Dis*as ter, v. t. 1. To blast by the influence of a baleful star. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster] 2. To bring harm upon; to injure. [R.] Thomson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • disaster — 1590s, from M.Fr. désastre (1560s), from It. disastro ill starred, from dis , here merely pejorative (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + astro star, planet, from L. astrum, from Gk. astron (see STAR (Cf. star)). The sense is astrological, of a calamity blamed …   Etymology dictionary

  • disaster — [n] accident, trouble act of God*, adversity, affliction, bad luck, bad news*, bale, bane, blight, blow, bust, calamity, casualty, cataclysm, catastrophe, collapse, collision, crash, debacle, defeat, depression, emergency, exigency, failure, fall …   New thesaurus

  • disaster — ► NOUN 1) a sudden accident or a natural catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of life. 2) an event or fact leading to ruin or failure. ORIGIN Italian disastro ill starred event , from Latin astrum star …   English terms dictionary

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