Chaos
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 10:34, 14 February 2014 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 10:34, 14 February 2014 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | '''Chaos''' in Ancient Greek meant a vast [[chasm]] or [[abyss]]. The word did not mean "disorder" in classical-period [[ancient Greece]]. It was the unordered state of matter in classical accounts of [[cosmogony]]. It meant "the primal [[emptiness]], [[space]]" (see [[Chaos (mythology)]]). ''Chaos'' is derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''ghn'' or ''ghen'' meaning "gape, be wide open": compare "[[chasm]]" (from [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] ''gānian'' ("[[yawn]]"), ''geanian, ginian'' ("gape wide"); see also [[Old Norse]] [[Ginnungagap]]. Due to people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning of the word changed to "[[disorder]]". (''The Ancient Greek for "disorder" is ''ταραχή''.''). | + | '''Chaos''' in Ancient Greek meant a vast [[chasm]] or [[abyss]]. It was the unordered state of matter in classical accounts of [[cosmogony]]. It meant "the primal [[emptiness]], [[space]]" (see [[Chaos (mythology)]]). ''Chaos'' is derived from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] [[root (linguistics)|root]] ''ghn'' or ''ghen'' meaning "gape, be wide open": compare "[[chasm]]" (from [[Greek language|Greek]], and [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] ''gānian'' ("[[yawn]]"), ''geanian, ginian'' ("gape wide"); see also [[Old Norse]] [[Ginnungagap]]. Due to people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning of the word changed to "[[disorder]]". (''The Ancient Greek for "disorder" is ''ταραχή''.''). |
| Today, the term refers to any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration. | Today, the term refers to any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration. | ||
Revision as of 10:34, 14 February 2014
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Chaos in Ancient Greek meant a vast chasm or abyss. It was the unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony. It meant "the primal emptiness, space" (see Chaos (mythology)). Chaos is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ghn or ghen meaning "gape, be wide open": compare "chasm" (from Greek, and Anglo-Saxon gānian ("yawn"), geanian, ginian ("gape wide"); see also Old Norse Ginnungagap. Due to people misunderstanding early Christian uses of the word, the meaning of the word changed to "disorder". (The Ancient Greek for "disorder" is ταραχή.).
Today, the term refers to any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration.
Chaos features three main characteristics:
- it is a bottomless gulf where anything falls endlessly. This radically contrasts with the Earth that emerges from it to offer a stable ground.
- it is a place without any possible orientation, where anything falls in every direction.
- it is a space that separates, that divides: after the Earth and the Sky parted, Chaos remains between both of them.
Contents |
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (vast chasm, void).
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 to the 1960s.
Synonyms
- See disorder
Antonyms
See also
- Chaosmos
- Chaos magic
- Chaos (mythology)
- Chaos theory
- Discordianism
- Disorder
- Interconnectedness
- Void
- entropy
- discord
- capricious
