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chaos

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Chaos, CHAOS, and chãos

English

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 chaos (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der.
Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos)
Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)lbor.
English chaos

    Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “vast chasm, void”). Doublet of gas, which was borrowed through Dutch. Displaced native Old English dwolma.

    In Early Modern English, used in the sense of the original Greek word. In the meaning “primordial matter” from the 16th century. Figurative usage in the sense “confusion, disorder” from the 17th century. The technical sense in mathematics and science dates from the 1960s.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    chaos (usually uncountable, plural chaoses)

    1. The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony.
    2. Any state of disorder; a confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration.
      to descend into chaos
      After the earthquake, the local hospital was in chaos
      • 1977, Irwin Edman, Adam, the Baby, and the Man from Mars, page 54:
        or out of these chaoses order may be made, out of this ferment a clear wine of life. There are chaoses that have gone too far for retrieval
    3. (mathematics) A behavior of iterative nonlinear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time.
    4. (fantasy) One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as opposed to law.
    5. (obsolete) A vast chasm or abyss.
    6. (obsolete, rare) A given medium; a space in which something exists or lives; an environment.
      • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Aire rectified. With a digression of the Aire.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 2, member 3, page 320:
        What is in the centre of the earth, or is it pure element only, as Ariſtotle decrees inhabited as Paracelſus thinks with creatures, whoſe Chaos is the earth with Fairies, as the woods and waters according to him, are with Nymphes or as the ayre with ſpirits.

    Synonyms

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    Antonyms

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    • (antonym(s) of “classical cosmogony”): cosmos
    • (antonym(s) of “state of disorder”): order

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    See also

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    Anagrams

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    Afrikaans

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    Etymology

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    From Dutch chaos, from Middle Dutch caos, from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

    Noun

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    chaos (uncountable)

    1. chaos (disorder)
    2. (cosmogony) primordial disorder

    Czech

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    Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der.
    Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos)
    Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)bor.
    Czech chaos

      Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “vast chasm, void”).

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      chaos m inan

      1. chaos (state of disorder)
        Antonym: řád
        • 1875, Josef Durdík, Všeobecná aesthetika.[1]:
          Ano i když pomíjíme všechny všednější odstíny smyslu, básníci velebí řád, myslíce si při tom na protivu jeho, chaos, a vědouce, že ve všem co se líbí, musí být jistý řád; a na druhé straně mají právě zas řád za průjev nesvobody [...]

      Declension

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      Declension of chaos (hard masculine inanimate)
      singular plural
      nominative chaos chaosy
      genitive chaosu chaosů
      dative chaosu chaosům
      accusative chaos chaosy
      vocative chaose chaosy
      locative chaosu chaosech
      instrumental chaosem chaosy
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      See also

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      Further reading

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      Dutch

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      Etymology

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      From Middle Dutch caos, from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos). Doublet of gas.

      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈxaː.ɔs/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Hyphenation: cha‧os

      Noun

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      chaos m (uncountable, diminutive chaosje n)

      1. chaos (disorder)
        Synonyms: baaierd, rommel, wanorde, warboel
      2. (cosmogony) primordial disorder

      Antonyms

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      Derived terms

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      Descendants

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      • Afrikaans: chaos
      • → West Frisian: gaos
      • → Indonesian: kaos

      Further reading

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      • “chaos” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]

      French

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      Etymology

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      Borrowed from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      chaos m (uncountable)

      1. chaos

      Further reading

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      Latin

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      Etymology

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      Etymology tree
      Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der.
      Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos)
      Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)bor.
      Latin chaos

        Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        chaos n sg (genitive chaī); second declension

        1. alternative letter-case form of Chaos
        2. a chasm
          • Late 4th century, Jerome [et al.], transl., edited by Roger Gryson, Biblia Sacra: Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem (Vulgate), 5th edition, Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, published 2007, →ISBN, Lucam 16:26:
            et in his omnibus inter nos et vos chaos magnum firmatum est ut hi qui volunt hinc transire ad vos, non possint, neque inde huc transmeare.
            And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither.
            Translates the Greek word χάσμα (khásma)
            ;

        Declension

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        Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type), singular only.

        singular
        nominative chaos
        genitive chaī
        dative chaō
        accusative chaos
        ablative chaō
        vocative chaos

        Descendants

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        References

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        • “chaos”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
        • “chaos”, in The Perseus Project (1999), Perseus Encyclopedia‎[2]
        • “chaos”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
        • “chaos”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

        Polish

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        Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia pl

        Etymology

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        Etymology tree
        Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der.
        Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos)
        Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)bor.
        Latin chaoslbor.
        Polish chaos

          Learned borrowing from Latin chaos.

          Pronunciation

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          Noun

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          chaos m inan

          1. (Greek mythology) chaos (unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony)
            Hypernym: materia
          2. chaos (state of disorder; a confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration)
            Synonyms: see Thesaurus:zamieszanie
            Antonym: ład
          3. chaos (behavior of iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time)

          Declension

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          Declension of chaos
          singular
          nominative chaos
          genitive chaosu
          dative chaosowi
          accusative chaos
          instrumental chaosem
          locative chaosie
          vocative chaosie
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          adjectives
          adverbs
          nouns

          Further reading

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          • “chaos”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
          • “chaos”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[4] (in Polish)
          • chaos in PWN's encyclopedia

          Slovak

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          Pronunciation

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          • IPA(key): /xaɔs/, [ˈxaɔs]
          • Rhymes: -aɔs
          • Hyphenation: cha‧os

          Noun

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          chaos m inan (genitive singular chaosu, nominative plural chaosy, genitive plural chaosov)

          1. chaos

          Declension

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          Declension of chaos
          (pattern dub)
          singularplural
          nominativechaoschaosy
          genitivechaosuchaosov
          dativechaosuchaosom
          accusativechaoschaosy
          locativechaosechaosoch
          instrumentalchaosomchaosmi

          Further reading

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          • “chaos”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026
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