pandemonium
English
WOTD – 25 August 2007
Alternative forms
Etymology
Coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost as Pandæmonium, from Ancient Greek πᾶν (pân, “all”) (equivalent to pan-) + Late Latin daemonium (“evil spirit, demon”), from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιον (daimónion, “deity”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌpændɪˈməʊnɪəm/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌpændəˈmoʊni.əm/
Audio (US): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -əʊniəm
Noun
pandemonium (countable and uncountable, plural pandemoniums or pandemonia)
- A loud, wild, tumultuous protest, disorder, or chaotic situation, usually of a crowd, often violent.
- 1908, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Bristol: J[ames] W[illiams] Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, →OCLC, page 259:
- Whatever all this pandemonium means, I suppose the police station will help us.
- 2004 October 22, The Boston Globe:
- Whenever you have violent pandemonium, there's the overwhelming possibility for panic and tragedy.
- An outburst; loud, riotous uproar, especially of a crowd.
- 2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 April 2023:
- Riyad Mahrez flighted the free-kick that followed to the far post and Morgan, with not much finesse but plenty of desire, bundled the ball over the line. Cue pandemonium in the stands.
- (collective) A group of parrots
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Catalan: pandemònium, pandemoni
- → Dutch: pandemonium
- → French: pandémonium
- → Romanian: pandemoniu
- → German: Pandämonium
- → Greek: πανδαιμόνιο (pandaimónio)
- → Italian: pandemonio
- → Norwegian Nynorsk: pandemonium
- → Polish: pandemonium
- → Portuguese: pandemónio / pandemônio
- → Spanish: pandemónium, pandemonio
- → Swedish: pandemonium
- → Russian: пандемониум (pandemonium)
Translations
chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder
|
an outburst; loud, riotous uproar
|
See also
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
pandemonium n (plural pandemoniums, diminutive pandemoniumpje n)
- pandemonium, residence of all demons/devils, hell
- pandemonium, a 'hellish' chaos, notably terrible noise and disorder
Norwegian Nynorsk
Noun
pandemonium n (definite singular pandemoniet, indefinite plural pandemonium, definite plural pandemonia)
- (antiquity) temple for all gods and demigods
- pandemonium (residence for all demons)
- Synonym: helvete
References
- “pandemonium” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from English pandemonium.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pan.dɛˈmɔ.ɲum/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -ɔɲum
- Syllabification: pan‧de‧mo‧nium
Noun
pandemonium n (indeclinable)
- (literary) pandemonium (hell)
- Synonym: piekło
- (literary) pandemonium (chaos; tumultuous or lawless violence)
- Synonym: koszmar
Further reading
- pandemonium in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- pandemonium in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Swedish
Alternative forms
- pandæmonium, pandämonium (archaic)
Etymology
Ultimately derived from English Pandæmonium. First attested in 1815.[1]
Noun
pandemonium n
- (figuratively) A place where evil demons gather.
- 1846, Johan Nybom, Samlade dikter III, page 32:
- Det gamla Roma var
Nu hela kristenhetens rika prestgäll,
Ett pandämonium som förr, der lasten,
I påfvemantel och i munkekåpor,
Uppvaktade — o, hvilket skändligt hån!- The old Rome were
Now the rich clergy of all Christendom,
A pandemonium as of old, where vice,
In pope's robes and in monk's hoods,
Courted — Oh, what a shameful mockery!
- The old Rome were
- 1839 November 17, Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, edited by Carl Santesson, P. D. A. Atterboms och B. v. Beskows brevväxling. I. 1822–1840, published 1926, pages 338–339:
- Upsala har verkligen nu blifvit ett litet artigt helvete, eller pandæmonium - Tack vare vännen Geijer, som med sitt Litteraturblad öppnade Pandoras-asken för allt detta djefleri!
- Uppsala has really now become a little polite hell, or pandæmonium - Thanks to the friend Geijer, who with his Literature magazine opened Pandora's box for all this devilry!
- A pandemonium.
- 2009 June 4, “Ett skepp kommer lastat med galna rockstjärnor [I spy crazy rock stars]”, in Dagens Nyheter:
- Israeliska garagerockarna Monotonix har sedan 2005 orsakat pandemonium genom att vägra spela på scen och sätta eld på sig själva och sina instrument.
- Israeli garage rockers Monotonix have been causing pandemonium since 2005 by refusing to play on stage and setting themselves and their instruments on fire.