havoc
English
Alternative forms
- havock (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English havok, havyk, from Old French havok in the phrase crier havok (“cry havoc”) a signal to soldiers to seize plunder, from Old French crier (“cry out, shout”) + havot (“pillaging, looting”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhæv.ək/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
havoc (usually uncountable, plural havocs)
- widespread devastation, destruction
- Bible, Acts viii. 3
- As for Saul, he made havoc of the church.
- Addison
- Ye gods, what havoc does ambition make / Among your works!
- Bible, Acts viii. 3
- mayhem
Usage notes
The noun havoc is most often used in the set phrase wreak havoc.[1]
Derived terms
- play havoc, raise havoc, wreak havoc, cry havoc, break havoc
Translations
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Verb
havoc (third-person singular simple present havocs, present participle havocking, simple past and past participle havocked)
- To pillage.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act I, Scene II:
- To tear and havoc more than she can eat.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act I, Scene II:
- To cause havoc.
Usage notes
As with other verbs ending in vowel + -c, The gerund-participle is sometimes spelled havocing, and the preterite and past participle is sometimes spelled havoced; for citations using these spellings, see their respective entries. However, the spellings havocking and havocked are far more common. Compare panic, picnic.
Translations
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Interjection
havoc
- A cry in war as the signal for indiscriminate slaughter.
- Toone
- Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt / With modest warrant.
- Shakespeare
- Cry "havoc", and let slip the dogs of war!
- Toone
References
- Old Hungarian Goulash?, The Grammarphobia Blog, October 31, 2008