Treach x etymology. Finally!
Today's word: DEBACLE!
Debacle: noun, "disaster," 1848, fig. use of French 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.
Synonyms of this word include catastrophe and tragedy.
Monday, June 15, 2009
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