chaos

English Online Dictionary. What means chaos‎? What does chaos mean?

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “vast chasm, void”). Doublet of gas, which was borrowed through Dutch.

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 from the 1960s.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.ɒs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkeɪ.ɑs/
• Rhymes: -eɪɒs

Noun

chaos (usually uncountable, plural chaoses)

1. The unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony.
2. Any state of disorder; a confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration.
3. (mathematics) A behaviour of iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time.
4. (fantasy) One of the two metaphysical forces of the world in some fantasy settings, as opposed to law.
5. (obsolete) A vast chasm or abyss.
6. (obsolete, rare) A given medium; a space in which something exists or lives; an environment.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:disorder

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “classical cosmogony”): cosmos
• (antonym(s) of “state of disorder”): order

Derived terms

Related terms

• chaotropic
• chaotropism

Translations

See also

• entropy
• discord

Anagrams

• Socha, oshac

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch chaos, from Middle Dutch caos, from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Noun

chaos (uncountable)

1. chaos (disorder)
2. (cosmogony) primordial disorder

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos, “vast chasm, void”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxaos]

Noun

chaos m inan

1. chaos (state of disorder)

   Antonym: řád

   • 1875, Josef Durdík, Všeobecná aesthetika.[1]:

     Ano i když pomíjíme všechny všednější odstíny smyslu, básníci velebí řád, myslíce si při tom na protivu jeho, chaos, a vědouce, že ve všem co se líbí, musí být jistý řád; a na druhé straně mají právě zas řád za průjev nesvobody [...]

Declension

Related terms

See also

• zmatek
• změť
• nepořádek
• neřád
• nahodilost
• entropie
• nekonzistence

Further reading

• “chaos”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “chaos”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “chaos”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025
• "chaos a řád" in Google Books search

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch caos, from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxaː.ɔs/
• Hyphenation: cha‧os

Noun

chaos m (uncountable)

1. chaos (disorder)

   Synonyms: baaierd, rommel, wanorde, warboel

2. (cosmogony) primordial disorder

Antonyms

• netheid
• orde

Derived terms

• chaostheoretisch
• chaostheorie
• chaotisch
• gas

Descendants

• Afrikaans: chaos
• → West Frisian: gaos
• → Indonesian: kaos

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin chaos, from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.o/
• Rhymes: -o

Noun

chaos m (uncountable)

1. chaos

Further reading

• “chaos”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰa.os/, [ˈkʰäɔs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.os/, [ˈkäːos]

Noun

chaos n sg (genitive chaī); second declension

1. Alternative letter-case form of Chaos
2. a chasm
   • ;

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type), singular only.

Descendants

• French: chaos
• Italian: caos, caosse, cao
• Portuguese: caos
• Romanian: haos, caos
• Spanish: caos

References

• “chaos”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “chaos”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎^[2]
• “chaos”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “chaos”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin chaos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxa.ɔs/
• Rhymes: -aɔs
• Syllabification: cha‧os

Noun

chaos m inan

1. (Greek mythology) chaos (unordered state of matter in classical accounts of cosmogony)

   Hypernym: materia

2. chaos (state of disorder; a confused or amorphous mixture or conglomeration)

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:zamieszanie

   Antonym: ład

3. chaos (behavior of iterative non-linear systems in which arbitrarily small variations in initial conditions become magnified over time)

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• chaos in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• chaos in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• chaos in PWN's encyclopedia

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈxaɔs]

Noun

chaos m inan (genitive singular chaosu, nominative plural chaosy, genitive plural chaosov, declension pattern of dub)

1. chaos

Declension

References

• “chaos”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025