different between detriment vs catastrophe

English

Etymology

From Old French detriement, from Latin detrimentum (“loss, damage, literally a rubbing off”), from deterere (“to rub off, wear”), from de- (“down, away”) + terere (“to rub”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?t??m?nt/

Noun

detriment (countable and uncountable, plural detriments)

1. Harm, hurt, damage.
2. (Britain, obsolete) A charge made to students and barristers for incidental repairs of the rooms they occupy.

Usage notes

• Often used in the form "to someone's detriment".

Synonyms

• harm
• hurt
• illfare
• damage
• expense

Antonyms

• benefit

Derived terms

• detrimental

Translations

Verb

detriment (third-person singular simple present detriments, present participle detrimenting, simple past and past participle detrimented)

1. (transitive, chiefly obsolete) To be detrimental to; to harm or mar.

Further reading

• detriment in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• detriment in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Romanian

Etymology

From French détriment, from Latin detrimentum.

Noun

detriment n (uncountable)

1. detriment

Declension

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 (archaic) Superseded spelling of catastrofe.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).