| Title | debacle |
|---|---|
| Text |
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary de·ba·cle ETYMOLOGY French débâcle, from débâcler to clear, from Middle French desbacler, from des- de- + bacler to block, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *bacculare, from Latin baculum staff DATE 1802 1. a tumultuous breakup of ice in a river 2. a violent disruption (as of an army) : rout 3. a. a great disaster b. a complete failure : fiasco English Etymology debacle "disaster," 1848, fig. use of Fr. débâcle "breaking up of ice on a river," extended to the violent flood that follows when the river ice melts in spring, from débâcler "to free," from M.Fr . desbacler "to unbar," from des- "off" + bacler "to bar," from V.L. *bacculare,from L. baculum "stick." Sense of "disaster" was present in Fr.before Eng. borrowed the word.http://M.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 debacle de·bacle / dei5bB:kl; di5b- / noun an event or a situation that is a complete failure and causes embarrassment 大败；崩溃；垮台；灾祸 OLT debacle noun ⇨ disaster Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged de·ba·cle \də̇ˈbäkəl, dāˈ-, dēˈ-, -ak-, -ȧk- sometimes dāˈbäk(lə) or dāˈbȧk(lə)\noun (-s) Etymology: French débâcle, from débâcler to unbar, unbolt, from Middle French desbacler, from des- de- + bacler to bar, bolt, from Old Provençal baclar, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bacculare, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bacculum stick, staff, alteration of Latin baculum — more at bacterium 1. a. (1) : a breaking up of ice in a river (2) : the rush (as of water and ice) that follows such a breaking up b. : a violent destructive flood 2. : a sudden breaking up or breaking loose : a violent dispersion or disruption (as of an army or mob) : stampede , rout < Custer's debacle on the Little Big Horn — Seth Agnew > 3. : a sudden breakdown : collapse < the Wall Street debacle of 1929 — Isabel Leighton > |
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