megaquake

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noun

A megathrust earthquake.

OriginEnglish quake ← Ancient Greek μέγᾰς (mégăs) ← Proto-Hellenic *mégas →
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Meanings

nounmegaquake (plural megaquakes)

plural megaquakes

  1. geographyA megathrust earthquake.
  2. A very powerful earthquake, generally rated above 7 on the Richter scale.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*méǵh₂s
  2. Proto-Hellenic*mégas
  3. Ancient Greekμέγᾰς (mégăs)
  4. Englishmega-
  5. Englishquake
  6. Englishmegaquake

From mega- + quake.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

megaquake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megaquake

MLA

“megaquake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megaquake. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “megaquake,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/megaquake.

Source: megaquake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.