Armageddon

From Middle English Hermagedon, from Old English Ermagedon, from Latin Hermagedon, from Ancient Greek Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedṓn), used in Revelation 16:16, referring to Mount Megiddo, the place of the last battle at the Last Judgment; from Hebrew הר מגידו / הַר מְגִדּוֹ (har megiddo).^[1]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɑː(ɹ).məˈɡɛ.dn̩/, /-ˈɡɛ.dən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑɹ.məˈɡɛ.dn̩/, /-ˈɡɛ.dən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛdən
• Hyphenation: Ar‧ma‧ged‧don

Armageddon

1. (Christianity, Islam) Mount Megiddo, the site of a prophesied final battle between the forces of good and evil.
   • 1941 October, F. S. Bond, “The Railways of China”, in Railway Magazine, page 440:

     And so, unfortunately, this great and spreading network of railways, that recently showed such promise as a major instrument in the modern development of China, must be left for the time being in the melting-pot of Armageddon.

2. (by extension) The battle itself.
3. (by extension) Any end of the world, especially by way of a cataclysmic battle or something analogous to one.
   • 1996, “Ænema”, performed by Tool:

     Some say the end is near
     Some say we'll see Armageddon soon
     I certainly hope we will
     I sure could use a vacation from this ...

• Apocalypse, Final Judgment

• Ragnarok (Norse mythology)
• day of reckoning, doomsday, judgement day, end times, end of the world

• Armageddon on Wikipedia.Wikipedia