armageddon
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Armageddon¹
- /ˌɑːməˈɡɛdn̩/ UK
- [-ʔn] UK
- /ˌɑɹməˈɡɛd(ə)n/ US
- [-ˈɡɛɾʔn] US
Rhymes with -ɛdən
Where it comes from
The proper noun is from Middle English Hermagedon, from Old English Ermagedon, from Late Latin Harmagedōn, from Ancient Greek Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedṓn), used in the New Testament of the Bible (see the quotations) to render Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ (har megído, “Mount Megiddo, the place where the final battle before the Last Judgment is predicted to occur”) from הַר (har, “mountain”) + מְגִידּוֹ (megído, “Megiddo or Meggidon, ancient city of Canaan”). The Bible does not directly refer to Mount Megiddo, but only to a plain (or “valley”) of Megiddo where the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II killed King Josiah of Judah during the Battle of Megiddo in 609 B.C.E. (2 Chronicles 35:20–24; see also 2 Kings 23:29), leading to “great mourning” (Zechariah 12:11). On the other hand, Revelation 19:17–19, which describes an angel calling birds to feed on the flesh of those who have died in the final battle, alludes to Ezekiel 38:17 in which God is described as calling on birds and animals to gather for Gog and Magog’s attack on Israel which will lead to “a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood” (spelling modernized and emphasis added). Armageddon as the mountain of Megiddo appears to be a conflation of these two concepts.
The noun is derived from the proper noun.
proper noun
- Mount Megiddo, a hill in modern Israel near the kibbutz of Megiddo, which is the site of a prophesized final battle between the forces of good and evil before the Last Judgment. For they are the ſprettes off devyls workynge myracles⸝ to go outt vnto the kynges off the erth and off the whole worlde to gaddre them to the battayle off that grett daye off God allmyghty. […] And he gaddered them togedder into a place called in the hebrue tonge Armagedon.
- The battle itself. This day will to the Christian world be even more awful and tremendous than the day of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem was to the Jewish nation. As the believing Jews were delivered from that destruction, so shall the true disciples of Christ be saved in the day of Armageddon: […]
noun Armageddons · armageddon
-
A catastrophic or great conflict, especially one regarded as likely to destroy the human race or the world; (loosely) the end of the world.
I shall know that your good is mine: ye shall feel that my strength is yours: / In that day of Armageddon, at the last great fight of all, / That Our Home stand together and the pillars do not fall.
Similar: Apocalypse, doomsday
- A type of chess game, usually played when a match would otherwise end in a draw, where black wins drawn games and white is given more time as compensation. [Michael] Crichton has just been too shrewd to cast his lot with the boys who play Armageddon chess [referring to military thinktanks]. He's realized that the work for which they pay mere thousands can be sold to the public for millions.
armageddon²
noun armageddons
- Alternative letter-case form of Armageddon In comparison to [Richard] Nixon-Mao [Zedong], terrorism and armageddon, Anna Nicole Smith [as the subject of Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera Anna Nicole (2011)] may seem lightweight, but it could prove an inspired choice.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: revelation, apocalypse, revelations, megiddo, mount megiddo, judgement day, end times, end-times, antichrist, judgment day, final reckoning, gemorra, eschaton, last trump, gomorrah, azrael
Translations
Every language
name Mount Megiddo, site of a prophezied final battle between the forces of good and evil before the Last Judgment
| Español | Armagedón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 아마겟돈 amagetdon, 하르마게돈 Hareumagedon |
| 日本語 | アルマゲドン Arumagedon, ハルマゲドン Harumagedon |
| 中文 | 哈米吉多頓 /哈米吉多顿 Hāmǐjíduōdùn |
| हिन्दी | हरमगिदोन harmagidon |
| Português | Armagedão, Armagedom |
| Français | Armageddon |
| Deutsch | Harmagedon |
| Italiano | Armageddon |
| Ελληνικά | Αρμαγεδδώνας Armageddónas |
| Русский | Армагеддо́н Armageddón |
| العربية | هَرْمَجَدُّون harmajaddūn, أَرْمَجِدُون ʔarmagidūn, أَرْمَجِدُون ʔarmajidūn |
| עברית | הַר מְגִדּוֹ har Məgiddô |
name the battle itself
| Italiano | Armageddon |
|---|
noun catastrophic or great conflict, especially one regarded as likely to destroy the human race or the world
| Español | armagedón |
|---|---|
| Português | armagedão, armagedom |
| Italiano | armageddon |
Talk about this word "armageddon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/armageddon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. armageddon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/armageddon "armageddon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/armageddon.Cite this
@misc{armageddon_2026,
title = {armageddon},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/armageddon},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
