chaos en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈkɛjɔs/ (British, Southern, Standard)
- /ˈke.ɔs/ (Scotland)
- /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ (New-Zealand)
- /ˈkæɪ.ɔs/ (Australia)
- [ˈkæɪ.ɔ̟s] ~ [-ɞ̠s] (New-Zealand)
- /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ (Canada)
- (California) audio
- (Texas) audio
- /ˈkeɪˌɑs/ (General-American)
- /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Received-Pronunciation) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos) Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)lbor. English chaos Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “vast chasm, void”). Doublet of gas, which was borrowed through Dutch. Displaced native Old English dwolma. In Early Modern English, used in the sense of the original Greek word. In the meaning “primordial matter” from the 16th century. Figurative usage in the sense “confusion, disorder” from the 17th century. The technical sense in mathematics and science dates from the 1960s.
Meanings
- (uncountable, usually) The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony.
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(uncountable, usually) Any state of disorder; a confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration.
to descend into chaos
or out of these chaoses order may be made, out of this ferment a clear wine of life. There are chaoses that have gone too far for retrieval
1977, Irwin Edman, Adam, the Baby, and the Man from Mars, page 54:After the earthquake, the local hospital was in chaos
- (uncountable, usually) A behavior of iterative nonlinear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time.
- (uncountable, usually) One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as opposed to law.
- (obsolete, uncountable, usually) A vast chasm or abyss.
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(obsolete, rare, uncountable, usually) A given medium; a space in which something exists or lives; an environment.
What is in the centre of the earth, or is it pure element only, as Ariſtotle decrees inhabited as Paracelſus thinks with creatures, whoſe Chaos is the earth with Fairies, as the woods and waters according to him, are with Nymphes or as the ayre with ſpirits.
1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Aire rectified. With a digression of the Aire.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 2, member 3, page 320:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chaoses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
cosmos (antonym(s) of “classical cosmogony”) · order (antonym(s) of “state of disorder”)
Deriveds
chaotropism · chaolite · chaotization · antichaotic · chaosphere · chaoite · nonchaotropic · chaogenous · chaoticness · chaoplexity · chaophilic · chaotize · chaotrope · chaoticist · chaoplex · chaoticity · antichaos · nonchaotic · chaoplexology · chaotic · antichaotropic · primordial chaos · homeochaos · chaoptin · chaos magic · chaoplexologist · chaotician · chaos cooking · unchaotic · semichaotic · chaology · chaos theory · chaotropy · chaophilia · chaological · chaomancy · chaologist · controlled chaos · homeochaotic · chaotically · chaotolerance · chaoplexic · chaoslike · hyperchaotic · chaos theorist · nonchaotically · chaotolerant · chaotropic
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (132)
ca caos (in classical cosmogony) · fr chaos (state of disorder) · acw خربطة (state of disorder) · tl dimayaw (mathematics) · de Wirrwarr (state of disorder) · de Chaos (state of disorder) · ia chaos (state of disorder) · ja カオス (mathematics) · ru ха́ос (mathematics) · ko 카오스 (mathematics) · th ความไร้ระเบียบ (mathematics) · acw لخبطة (state of disorder) · cmn 混亂 /混乱 (state of disorder) · ang dwolma (state of disorder) · mk ха́ос (mathematics) · tl dimayaw (in classical cosmogony) · ru беспоря́док (state of disorder) · sh каос (state of disorder) · hy քաոս (state of disorder) · th ความอลวน (mathematics) · io kaoso (state of disorder) · lo ໂກລາຫົນ (state of disorder) · sh haos (state of disorder) · rm caos (state of disorder) · ms huru hara (state of disorder) · mi aneatanga (state of disorder) · ro harababură (state of disorder) · pdt Wirwoa (state of disorder) · bg хаос (state of disorder) · th ความยุ่งเหยิง (state of disorder) · gsw Chrüsimüsi (state of disorder) · tl kaguluhan (state of disorder) · gl caos (state of disorder) · ota تشوش (state of disorder) · fi sekasorto (state of disorder) · az hərc-mərclik (state of disorder) · ar فَوْضَى (state of disorder) · ga anord (state of disorder) · hi अव्यवस्था (state of disorder) · cmn 混沌 (in classical cosmogony) · sh хаос (state of disorder) · cmn 渾沌 /浑沌 (state of disorder) · ru хао́с (mathematics) · vi hỗn loạn (state of disorder) · be ха́ас (state of disorder) · sv kaos (mathematics) · et tohuvabohu (state of disorder) · nl chaos (state of disorder) · eo ĥaoso (in classical cosmogony) · ru хао́с (state of disorder) · sh kaos (state of disorder) · ja 混乱 (state of disorder) · ang dwolma (in classical cosmogony) · ka ქაოსი (state of disorder) · th ความสับสนวุ่นวาย (state of disorder) · nl baaierd (in classical cosmogony) · eo ĥaoso (state of disorder) · sq rrojmë (state of disorder) · mk ха́ос (in classical cosmogony) · grc ταραχή (state of disorder) · be хао́с (state of disorder) · nl wanorde (state of disorder) · mi kaumingomingo (state of disorder) · grc χάος (in classical cosmogony) · bg хаос (in classical cosmogony) · km សង្ករ (state of disorder) · ko 카오스 (state of disorder) · it caos (state of disorder) · ru хао́с (in classical cosmogony) · pt caos (in classical cosmogony) · ja 混沌 (in classical cosmogony) · ru ха́ос (in classical cosmogony) · el χάος (in classical cosmogony) · ro haos (mathematics) · ja 無秩序 (state of disorder) · nl chaos (in classical cosmogony) · ja 混沌 (state of disorder) · sv kaos (state of disorder) · et kaos (state of disorder) · cs chaos (state of disorder) · pl chaos (state of disorder) · sl kaos (state of disorder) · id kekacauan (state of disorder) · ro haos (in classical cosmogony) · sq rrëmujë (state of disorder) · id prahara (state of disorder) · de Wirrsal (state of disorder) · da kaos (state of disorder) · tl dimayaw (state of disorder) · el χάος (state of disorder) · acw حوسة (state of disorder) · fi epäjärjestys (state of disorder) · cmn 混沌 (mathematics) · pl chaos (mathematics) · th ความโกลาหล (mathematics) · is ringulreið (state of disorder) · pl chaos (in classical cosmogony) · ko 혼돈 (state of disorder) · lv haoss (state of disorder) · ro haos (state of disorder) · lt chaosas (state of disorder) · uk хао́с (state of disorder) · fi kaaos (mathematics) · cmn 混沌 (state of disorder) · sw kesheshe (state of disorder) · ru ха́ос (state of disorder) · mk ха́ос (state of disorder) · fa آشوب (state of disorder) · fi kaaos (state of disorder) · ota قارش (state of disorder) · mn эмх замбараагүй байдал (state of disorder) · de Durcheinander (state of disorder) · tr teşevvüş (state of disorder) · fi kaaos (in classical cosmogony) · ja カオス (state of disorder) · no kaos (state of disorder) · es caos (state of disorder) · he תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ (in classical cosmogony) · he תוהו ובוהו (state of disorder) · de Unordnung (state of disorder) · hu káosz (state of disorder) · mk безре́дие (state of disorder) · th ความโกลาหล (state of disorder) · pt caos (state of disorder) · es caos (in classical cosmogony) · he כאוס (state of disorder) · bg хаос (mathematics) · eo kaoso (state of disorder) · bg безредие (state of disorder) · ca caos (state of disorder) · nap munnia (state of disorder) · el χάος (mathematics)