apocalypse

See also: Apocalypse

English

Etymology

From Middle English apocalips, from Latin apocalypsis, from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”), literally meaning "uncovering", from ἀπό (apó, “back, away from”) and καλύπτω (kalúptō, “I cover”). The sense evolution to "catastrophe, end of the world" stems from the depiction of such events in the biblical Book of Revelation, also called the Apocalypse of (i.e. Revelation to) John.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒkəlɪps/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈpɑkəlɪps/
• Hyphenation: a‧poc‧a‧lypse

Noun

apocalypse (plural apocalypses)

1. A revelation, especially of supernatural events. [from 14th c.]

   The early development of Perl 6 was punctuated by a series of apocalypses by Larry Wall.

2. (Christianity) The unveiling of events prophesied in the Revelation; the second coming and the end of life on Earth; global destruction. [from 19th c.]
3. (Christianity) The Book of Revelation.
4. A disaster; a cataclysmic event; destruction or ruin. [from 19th c.]

   A nuclear apocalypse would have been possible if tensions went out of control during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 180:

     Man has forgotten the soul and thus doomed his civilization to apocalypse.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 699:

     The Spanish mission in America soon became not so much crusade as apocalypse.

Synonyms

• armageddon
• doomsday
• Ragnarok (Ragnarök)
• end times
• eschaton

Hyponyms

• nuclear holocaust
• Final Judgment
• judgement day
• zombie apocalypse

Derived terms

• apocalyptic
• apocalypticism
• Brexocalypse
• eco-apocalypse
• post-apocalypse
• postapocalypse
• replyallpocalypse
• retail apocalypse
• snowpocalypse
• Twitpocalypse
• Zombocalypse
• zombocalypse

 

Related terms

English terms prefixed with apo-

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱel- (2 c, 2 e)

Translations

revealing or revelation

• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܓܸܠܝܵܢܵܐ (gilyana)

• Belarusian: апака́ліпсіс m (apakálipsis), адкрыццё n (adkryccjó)
• Bulgarian: апокали́псис (bg) m (apokalípsis), открове́ние (bg) n (otkrovénie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 啟示／启示 (zh) (qǐshì)

• Czech: apokalypsa (cs) f, zjevení (cs) f
• Danish: apokalypse c, åbenbaring c
• Estonian: ilmutus
• Finnish: ilmestys (fi)
• French: apocalypse (fr) f
• Galician: apocalipse f
• German: Apokalypse (de) f
• Greek: αποκάλυψη (el) f (apokálypsi)

  Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις f (apokálupsis)

• Guaraní: tembiechaukakue
• Hindi: कश्फ (hi) m (kaśph), कश्फ़ m (kaśf)
• Hungarian: apokalipszis (hu)
• Indonesian: wahyu (id)
• Japanese: 黙示 (ja) (もくし, mokushi, もくじ, mokuji)
• Korean: 묵시(默示) (ko) (muksi)
• Latin: apocalypsis f
• Macedonian: откровение n (otkrovenie)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: apokalypse (no) m

  Nynorsk: apokalypse m

• Polish: apokalipsa (pl), objawienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: apocalipse (pt) m
• Romanian: apocalipsă (ro) f
• Russian: апока́липсис (ru) m (apokálipsis), открове́ние (ru) n (otkrovénije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: апокалѝпса f, открове́ње n, о̏бјава f

  Roman: apokalìpsa (sh) f, otkrovénje (sh) n, ȍbjava (sh) f

• Slovak: apokalypsa (sk) f, zjavenie n
• Slovene: apokalipsa (sl) f, razodetje (sl) n, odkritje (sl) n
• Tagalog: hulawat
• Ukrainian: апока́ліпсис (uk) m (apokálipsys), відкриття́ n (vidkryttjá), одкрове́ння n (odkrovénnja)
• Urdu: کَشْف m (kašf)

end of the world

• Arabic: الْقِيَامَة f (al-qiyāma), نِهَايَةُ الْعَالَم f (nihāyatu l-ʕālam)
• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܓܸܠܝܵܢܵܐ (gilyana)

• Belarusian: апака́ліпсіс m (apakálipsis)
• Bulgarian: апокали́псис (bg) m (apokalípsis)
• Burmese: ကမ္ဘာပျက်ခြင်း (kambha-pyakhkrang:)
• Catalan: apocalipsi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 世界末日 (zh) (shìjiè mòrì)

• Czech: apokalypsa (cs) f
• Danish: apokalypse c, dommedag c
• Estonian: apokalüpsis
• Finnish: maailmanloppu (fi), apokalypsi (fi)
• French: apocalypse (fr) f
• Galician: Apocalipse m
• German: Apokalypse (de) f
• Hebrew: אחרית הימים f (aḥarít hayamím), אַפּוֹקַלִיפְּסָה (he) f (apokalípsa)
• Hindi: संक्षय (hi) m (saṅkṣay), क़यामत f (qayāmat)
• Hungarian: apokalipszis (hu)
• Indonesian: kiamat (id)
• Irish: apacailipsis m

  Old Irish: abcolips

• Italian: apocalisse (it)
• Macedonian: апокали́пса f (apokalípsa), синдилија f (sindilija)
• Navajo: nihwiníyá, łahgo náhodeesdzá
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: apokalypse (no) m, dommedag m

  Nynorsk: apokalypse m, dommedag m, domedag m

• Persian: آخرالزمان (fa) (âxar-oz-zamân), قیامت (fa) (qiyâmat)
• Polish: apokalipsa (pl) f
• Portuguese: apocalipse (pt) f
• Russian: апока́липсис (ru) m (apokálipsis)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: апокалѝпса f, открове́ње n, о̏бјава f

  Roman: apokalìpsa (sh) f, otkrovénje (sh) n, ȍbjava (sh) f

• Slovak: apokalypsa (sk) f
• Spanish: apocalipsis m
• Swedish: apokalyps (sv) c
• Tagalog: hulawat
• Turkish: kıyamet (tr)
• Ukrainian: апока́ліпсис (uk) m (apokálipsys)
• Urdu: قیامت f (qayāmat)

cataclysmic event

• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܓܸܠܝܵܢܵܐ (gilyana)

• Belarusian: апака́ліпсіс m (apakálipsis)
• Bulgarian: апокали́псис (bg) m (apokalípsis)
• Catalan: apocalipsi (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大災難／大灾难 (dàzāinàn)

• Danish: apokalypse c, dommedag c
• Estonian: apokalüpsis
• Finnish: maailmanloppu (fi), tuomiopäivä (fi), apokalypsi (fi)
• French: apocalypse (fr) f
• Galician: apocalipse m
• German: Apokalypse (de) f
• Hindi: संक्षय (hi) m (saṅkṣay)
• Hungarian: apokalipszis (hu)
• Irish: apacailipsis m
• Italian: apocalisse (it)
• Macedonian: апокали́пса f (apokalípsa)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: apokalypse (no), dommedag m

  Nynorsk: apokalypse m, dommedag m, domedag m

• Polish: apokalipsa (pl) f
• Portuguese: apocalipse (pt) m
• Russian: апока́липсис (ru) m (apokálipsis)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: апокалѝпса f, открове́ње n, о̏бјава f

  Roman: apokalìpsa (sh) f, otkrovénje (sh) n, ȍbjava (sh) f

• Swedish: domedag (sv) m
• Tagalog: hulawat
• Ukrainian: апока́ліпсис (uk) m (apokálipsys)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} apokalips (sq)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} apokalipsa, ^{(please verify)} apokalipsė f
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} apocalips (ro) n
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} apokalipsa (sh) f, ^{(please verify)} apokalipsa (sh) f
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} apokalipsa (sl)

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “apocalypse”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

French

Etymology

From Latin apocalypsis, from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.pɔ.ka.lips/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

apocalypse f (plural apocalypses)

1. apocalypse (disaster)

Related terms

• apocalyptique

Further reading

• “apocalypse”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Noun

apocalypse

1. ablative singular of apocalypsis