The story
- Irish · derived fromtoirneach
- Danish · derived fromtordenen
- Swedish · derived fromåska
- Portuguese · derived fromtrovão
- Scots · derived fromthunner
- Romanian · derived fromtun
- Italian · derived fromtuono
- French · derived fromtonnerre
- Greek · derived fromβροντάω
- Ancient Greek · derived fromβροντάω
- Finnish · derived fromukkonen
- Japanese · derived from雷
- Hindi · derived fromगड़गड़ाहट
- Hindi · derived fromगरज
- English todaybababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk
Coined by Irish novelist and poet James Joyce in the 1939 novel Finnegans Wake (see quote) as a sequence of syllables representing the sound of a thunderclap associated with the fall of Adam and Eve. The word is one of ten “thunderwords” in the book. Most commentators agree that the term is an amalgam of the words for “thunder” in several different languages: Details Suggestions by those other than McHugh are given in parentheses. * "bababadal": N/A, (Babel) * "gharaghta": Hindi गरज (garaj), (Hindi गड़गड़ाहट (gaṛagṛāhaṭ)) * "kamminarr": Japanese 雷 (kaminari) * "onnkonn": (Finnish ukkonen) * "bronn(to)": Ancient Greek βροντάω (brontáō) and Greek βροντάω (vrontáo) * "(to)nnerronn": French tonnerre * "tuonn": Italian tuono * "thunn": Old Romanian tun, (Scots thunner) * "trovarr": Portuguese trovão * "hounawnskawn": Swedish åska * "toohoohoordenen": Danish tordenen * "thurnuk": Irish toirneach
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.