Cataclysm - Definition and Overview

This article is about the Greek expression. For the event in the Dragonlance series of books, see Cataclysm (Dragonlance).

The cataclysm is the Greek expression for the Biblical Great Flood of Noah, from the Greek kataklysmos, to "wash down." Erudite Bible studies drew it into the English language in 1633. A cataclysm is merely one kind of catastrophe, best used when confined to a geological phenomenon of planetary significance.

As with many words of apocalyptic Biblical resonance, the adoption of cataclysm for features of manufactured pop culture in order to evoke an atmosphere of doom may provoke unintentional hilarity (compare Camp).

Example Usage of Cataclysm