disaster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2010 is: disaster • \dih-ZAS-ter\ • noun : a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction; broadly : a sudden or great misfortune or failure Examples: As soon as we saw the storm clouds gathering to the west, we knew our picnic was going to be a disaster. Did you know? "Disaster" has its roots in the belief that the positions of stars influence the fate of humans, often in destructive ways; its original meaning in English was "an unfavorable aspect of a planet or star." The word comes to us through Middle French and the Old Italian word "disastro," from the Latin prefix "dis-" and Latin "astro," meaning "star." Another unfortunate word that comes to us from astrological beliefs is "ill-starred." Now generally used in the sense of "unlucky" or "having or destined to a hapless fate," "ill-starred" was originally used literally to describe someone born under or guided by an evil star. We also have "star-crossed," meaning "not favored by the stars" or "ill-fated." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.