Etymograph

English

disaster

Disaster comes from Italian disastro ‘disaster’, from astro ‘star’ (with dis- ‘bad’), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗr1‘star’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀστήρ1‘star’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστρον1ástron‘star’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEastrum1‘star’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentastro1‘star’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentdisastro1
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600desastre1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1810disaster1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English disaster
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1810, Jack and Jill, York: J. Kendrew: “Then Jill came in, And she did grin, To…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂stḗrWiktionary, English disaster‘star’reconstructed
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀστήρWiktionary, English disaster‘star’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἄστρονWiktionary, English disasterástron‘star’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEastrumWiktionary, English disaster‘star’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentastroWiktionary, English disaster‘star’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentdisastroWiktionary, English disaster
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600desastreWiktionary, English disaster
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1810disasterWiktionary, English disaster. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1810, Jack and Jill, York: J. Kendrew: “Then Jill came in, And she did grin, To…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with disaster, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁s- ‘to burn, glow’

  • constellation ← constellacioun ← cōnstēllātiōnem ← cōnstēllātiō ← stēlla
  • stellate ← stēllātus ← stēlla ← *stērlā ← *h₂stḗr

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr ‘star’

  • star ← sterre ← steorra ← *sterrō ← *sternō
  • sterling ← *steorling ← steorra ← *sterrō ← *sternǭ
  • stellar ← stēllāris ← stēlla ← *stērlā
  • stella ← *stērlā
  • asteroid ← ἀστεροειδής ← ἀστήρ ← *astḗr
  • asterisk ← asteriscus ← ἀστερῐ́σκος ← ᾰ̓στήρ ← *astḗr

through Ancient Greek ἄστρον ‘star’

  • astrology ← astrologie ← astrologia ← ἀστρολογία

through Latin astrum ‘star’

45 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent change to the natural environment.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “disaster”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr / disaster