word
Greek
Chaos
lit. โyawning voidโ
The state of complete disorder. Originally, the primordial void before creation.
Origin
In Hesiod's Theogony, Chaos is the first thing that existed โ a formless void from which the cosmos emerged. The word later flipped to mean total disorder.
Modern usage
Ubiquitous in everything from weather metaphors to corporate restructurings to memes ('today was chaos').
Tags
disorder
origin