different between catastrophe vs apostrophe

English

Alternative forms

• catastrophë (now rare)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?), from ?????????? (katastréph?, “I overturn”), from ???? (katá, “down, against”) + ?????? (stréph?, “I turn”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /k??tæst??fi/
• Hyphenation: ca?tas?tro?phe

Noun

catastrophe (plural catastrophes)

1. any large and disastrous event of great significance
2. (insurance) a disaster beyond expectations
3. (narratology) the dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement
4. (mathematics) a type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Dutch

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. (archaic) Superseded spelling of catastrofe.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin catastropha, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ?????????? (katastroph?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.tas.t??f/

Noun

catastrophe f (plural catastrophes)

1. catastrophe

Synonyms

• cata (informal)
• désastre

Derived terms

• en catastrophe

Verb

catastrophe

1. first-person singular present indicative of catastropher
2. third-person singular present indicative of catastropher
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of catastropher
5. second-person singular imperative of catastropher

Further reading

• “catastrophe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??p?s.t??.fi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??p??s.t??.fi/

Etymology 1

From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ?????????? (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ????????? (apostréph?, “I turn away”), from ??? (apó, “away from”) + ?????? (stréph?, “to turn”).

Alternative forms

• apostrophë, apostrophy

Noun

apostrophe (plural apostrophes)

2. (orthography) The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.

Usage notes

In English, the apostrophe is used to mark the possessive (e.g. “my friend’s wife”) or to show the omission of letters or numbers (e.g. “my friend’s angry”).

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• apostrophe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Punctuation

Etymology 2

From Latin apostrophe, from Ancient Greek ????????? (apostroph?), from ????????? (apostréph?, “I turn away”), from ??? (apó) + ?????? (stréph?, “I turn”).

Noun

apostrophe (countable and uncountable, plural apostrophes)

2. (rhetoric) A sudden exclamatory piece of dialogue addressed to someone or something, especially absent.

Derived terms

• apostrophic, apostrophically
• apostrophize

Related terms

• catastrophe

Translations

Anagrams

• protophase

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.p?s.t??f/
• Homophones: apostrophent, apostrophes

Etymology 1

From Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ?????????? (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ????????? (apostréph?, “I turn away”).

Noun

apostrophe f (plural apostrophes)

1. (orthography) apostrophe

Etymology 2

From Latin apostrophe, from Ancient Greek ????????? (apostroph?), from ????????? (apostréph?, “I turn away”), from ??? (apó) + ?????? (stréph?, “I turn”).

Noun

apostrophe f (plural apostrophes)

1. (rhetoric) apostrophe

Related terms

• apostropher

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

apostrophe

1. first/third-person singular present indicative of apostropher
2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of apostropher
3. second-person singular imperative of apostropher

Further reading

• “apostrophe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).