catastrophism
|kə-tæs-trə-fɪz-əm|
/kəˈtæstrəˌfɪzəm/
sudden large disaster causes change
Etymology
'catastrophism' originates from Greek via Latin and French, specifically from the Greek word 'katastrophē' (καταστροφή), where 'kata-' meant 'down' or 'against' and 'strophē' meant 'a turning' or 'overturning'; the suffix '-ism' (from French/Latin) denotes a doctrine or belief.
'katastrophē' (Greek) passed into Late Latin and Old French as 'catastrophe' and then into Middle English as 'catastrophe'; the English noun 'catastrophism' was formed in the 19th century by combining 'catastrophe' with the suffix '-ism' to refer to the doctrine.
Initially it meant 'an overturning' or 'sudden disaster'; over time it evolved to mean specifically the doctrine or belief that such sudden catastrophes explain major changes (i.e., the modern sense of the doctrine 'catastrophism').
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a geological doctrine that Earth's major features and changes are largely the result of sudden, short-lived, violent events (catastrophes), rather than slow, continuous processes.
In the 19th century, catastrophism and uniformitarianism were competing views among geologists.
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Noun 2
a general belief or approach that emphasizes sudden, large-scale disasters or catastrophes as the principal driving forces in history or development.
Some accounts of societal collapse lean toward catastrophism, stressing abrupt catastrophic events rather than slow decline.
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Last updated: 2025/12/09 09:24