megadeath

English

WOTD – 24 March 2025

Etymology

PIE word
*méǵh₂s

From mega- (prefix meaning ‘one million; very large, great’) +‎ death.[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɡədɛθ/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmɛɡəˌdɛθ/
  • Hyphenation: mega‧death

Noun

megadeath (plural megadeaths)

  1. One million deaths, especially as a unit of measure for estimating deaths due to nuclear warfare. [from mid 20th c.]
    Synonym: megacorpse
    Coordinate term: (science fiction) gigadeath
  2. (loosely) The deaths of a very large number of people; a massacre, a slaughter.

Translations

References

  1. ^ “megadeath, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “megadeath, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
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