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hav·oc

(hăvək)

1. Widespread destruction; devastation.

2. Disorder or chaos: a wild party that created havoc in the house.

tr.v. hav·ocked, hav·ock·ing, hav·ocs

To destroy or pillage.

[Middle English havok, plunder, pillage, originally in crien havok, to cry havoc, give the signal for troops to begin plundering, from Anglo-Norman crier havok, from havok, word shouted to give the signal for plunder, variant of Old French havot, of Germanic origin; possibly akin to Gothic habjan, Old High German heffen, and Old English hebban, to lift, raise (source of Modern English heave), all from Germanic *habjan.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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