havoc
noun
[ ˈhavək ]
• widespread destruction.
• "the hurricane ripped through Florida causing havoc"
Similar:
devastation,
destruction,
damage,
desolation,
depredation,
despoliation,
ruination,
ruin,
disaster,
ravagement,
waste,
catastrophe,
havoc
verb
• lay waste to; devastate.
Origin:
late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French havok, alteration of Old French havot, of unknown origin. The word was originally used in the phrase cry havoc (Old French crier havot ) ‘to give an army the order havoc’, which was the signal for plundering.
