armageddon
/ˌɑɹməˈɡɛd(ə)n/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
Mount Megiddo, a hill in modern Israel near the kibbutz of Megiddo, which is the site of a prophesized final battle between the forces of good and evil before the Last Judgment.
noun
A catastrophic or great conflict, especially one regarded as likely to destroy the human race or the world; (loosely) the end of the world.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "For they are the ſprettes off devyls workynge myracles⸝ to go outt vnto the kynges off the erth and off the whole worlde to gaddre them to the battayle off that grett daye off God allmyghty. […] And he gaddered them togedder into a place called in the hebrue tonge Armagedon."
- "For they are the ſpirits of deuils working miracles, which goe forth vnto the Kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battell of that great day of God Almighty. […] And hee gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrewe tongue, Armageddon."
- "This day will to the Christian world be even more awful and tremendous than the day of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem was to the Jewish nation. As the believing Jews were delivered from that destruction, so shall the true disciples of Christ be saved in the day of Armageddon: […]"
- "And so, unfortunately, this great and spreading network of railways, that recently showed such promise as a major instrument in the modern development of China, must be left for the time being in the melting-pot of Armageddon."
- "I shall know that your good is mine: ye shall feel that my strength is yours: / In that day of Armageddon, at the last great fight of all, / That Our Home stand together and the pillars do not fall."
- "Some say the end is near / Some say we'll see Armageddon soon / I certainly hope we will / I sure could use a vacation from this […]"
Etymology
The proper noun is from Middle English Hermagedon, from Old English Ermagedon, from Late Latin Harmagedōn, from Ancient Greek Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedṓn), used in the New Testament of the Bible (see the quotations) to render Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ (har megído, “Mount Megiddo, the place where the final battle before the Last Judgment is predicted to occur”) from הַר (har, “mountain”) + מְגִידּוֹ (megído, “Megiddo or Meggidon, ancient city of Canaan”). The Bible does not directly refer to Mount Megiddo, but only to a plain (or “valley”) of Megiddo where the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II killed King Josiah of Judah during the Battle of Megiddo in 609 B.C.E. (2 Chronicles 35:20–24; see also 2 Kings 23:29), leading to “great mourning” (Zechariah 12:11). On the other hand, Revelation 19:17–19, which describes an angel calling birds to feed on the flesh of those who have died in the final battle, alludes to Ezekiel 38:17 in which God is described as calling on birds and animals to gather for Gog and Magog’s attack on Israel which will lead to “a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood” (spelling modernized and emphasis added). Armageddon as the mountain of Megiddo appears to be a conflation of these two concepts. The noun is derived from the proper noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Hermagedon, Ermagedon, Harmagedōn, Ἁρμαγεδών, הר מגידו
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌɑɹməˈɡɛd(ə)n/
- British English: /ˌɑːməˈɡɛdn̩/