apocalypse

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil
  2. noun the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil and of the end of the world; attributed to Saint John the Apostle

Etymology

From Middle English apocalips, from Latin apocalypsis, from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”, literally “uncovering”), from ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “to reveal”), from ἀπό (apó, “back, away from”) + καλύπτω (kalúptō, “to cover”), + -σις (-sis, suffix forming nouns). 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. The verb is from the noun and, in sense 1, a semantic loan from the etymonic Ancient Greek verb ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalúptō, “to reveal”).

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