Chaos
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| + | '''Chaos''' in Ancient Greece 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''.''). | ||
| - | # {{context|obsolete|lang=en}} A vast [[chasm]] or [[abyss]]. | + | Today, the term refers to any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration. |
| - | # The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of [[cosmogony]] | + | |
| - | # Any state of disorder, any confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration. | + | |
| - | #* {{quote-book|title=Adam, the Baby, and the Man from Mars|page=54|author=Irwin Edman|year=1977|passage=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}} | + | |
| - | # {{context|obsolete|rare|lang=en}} A given [[medium]]; a space in which something exists or lives; an [[environment]]. | + | |
| - | #* '''1621''', Robert Burton, ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'', II.ii.3: | + | |
| - | #*: What is the centre of the earth? is it pure element only, as Aristotle decrees, inhabited (as Paracelsus thinks) with creatures whose '''chaos''' is the earth: or with fairies, as the woods and waters (according to him) are with nymphs, or as the air with spirits? | + | |
| - | # {{context|mathematics|lang=en}} Behaviour of iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time. | + | |
| - | # {{context|fantasy|lang=en}} One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as opposed to [[law]]. | + | |
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| + | Chaos features three main characteristics: | ||
| + | *it is a [[bottomless]] gulf where anything falls [[endless]]ly. 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. | ||
| ==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
| Borrowed from Ancient Greek ''χάος'' (vast chasm, void). | Borrowed from Ancient Greek ''χάος'' (vast chasm, void). | ||
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| * See [[cosmos]], [[order]] | * See [[cosmos]], [[order]] | ||
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| - | '''Chaos''' (derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]], ''Chaos'') typically refers to [[unpredictability]], and is the antithetical concept of [[cosmos]]. | ||
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| - | The word did not mean "disorder" in classical-period [[ancient Greece]]. 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 features three main characteristics: | ||
| - | *it is a [[bottomless]] gulf where anything falls [[endless]]ly. 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. | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 10:34, 14 February 2014
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Chaos in Ancient Greece 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 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
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Chaos" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
