PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-disaster
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
12 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionarymw-disaster
Disaster — Word History
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
011
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
RANK 213GRADE A−supports
A disaster was once a “bad star.”
Italian disastro joins a negative prefix to the word for star.
*h₂ster-
*h₂ster- → astrum → astro → disastro → désastre → disaster
EtymologyAnalyzes Italian disastro as a negative formation on the word for star.
disaster dossier ↗truth record ↗75UNVEILING
022
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
opensupportsprobable
Exactly which Romance language handed the word to English?
French and Italian stages are both central in reference accounts; a single linear donor route can overstate the surviving evidence.
Word HistoryRecords the French and Italian transmission evidence without forcing one donor chain beyond the source.
resolvedsupportsestablished
Is the “bad star” composition real?
Yes. Italian disastro is analyzed as a negative prefix plus astro “star,” reflecting an astrological frame for misfortune.
EtymologyAnalyzes Italian disastro as the negative prefix plus the word for star.
033
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 24supportsestablished
disaster → désastre
Present-Day English → French · borrowing
- SOUND
- English adapted the French form, including stress and final syllable.
- MEANING
- The inherited calamity sense became the general modern category of disaster.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster editors
Word History and First Known UseEnglish date and French–Italian transmission.
EDGE 25supportsprobable
désastre → disastro
French → Italian / early Italian · borrowing
- SOUND
- French désastre and Italian disastro belong to the same Romance formation and transmission history.
- MEANING
- Astrologically unfavorable influence generalized to severe misfortune.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Romance historical lexicography
Word HistoryRomance transmission.
EDGE 26supportsestablished
disastro → astro
Italian / early Italian → Italian / early Italian · derivation
- SOUND
- Italian disastro combines the negative prefix dis- with astro “star.”
- MEANING
- An unfavorable star or astral influence became calamity.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster editors
EtymologyItalian dis- plus astro analysis.
041
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
disasterSOURCE-REPORTED
disaster
English lexical record
OPEN WITNESS 9 ↗051
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
astro
Italiandirect morphological base
064
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 1supports
Latin astrum and the astrological frame
Documents the literal unfavorable planetary or stellar aspect and the astrological belief underlying the later calamity word.
Obsolete occult sense; Did You Know? · broadstage 2supports
Italy
Analyzes Old Italian disastro from dis- plus astro “heavenly body” and preserves the unfavorable-star sense.
Did You Know? and Word History: Etymology · regionalstage 3supports
France
Reports Middle French desastre as borrowed from Italian disastro and treats both languages as part of the English borrowing history.
Word History: Etymology · regionalstage 4supports
English-language disaster senses
Reports 1567 for the English calamity noun and documents current event, failure, harmful-result, emotional-state, and disorder senses.
Definitions 1–3 and Word History: First Known Use · global070
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
081
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
3 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.