Hypertext Webster Gateway: "cataclysm"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cataclysm \Cat"a*clysm\, n. [L. cataclysmos, Gr. kataklysmo`s,
from ? to dash over, inundate; kata` downward, against + ? to
wash or dash over: cf. F. cataclysme.]
1. An extensive overflow or sweeping flood of water; a
deluge.
2. (Geol.) Any violent catastrophe, involving sudden and
extensive changes of the earth's surface.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
cataclysm
n 1: a sudden violent change in the earth's surface [syn: {catastrophe}]
2: an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole
city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the
earthquake was a disaster" [syn: {calamity}, {catastrophe},
{disaster}, {tragedy}]
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