Pandemonium

English

Etymology

Coined by John Milton in Paradise Lost as Pandæmonium, from Greek πᾶν (“all”) + Latin daemonium (“evil spirit, demon”), from Greek δαιμόνιον (“deity”).

Pronunciation

• RP: /ˌpændɪˈməʊnɪəm/
• General American: /ˌpændəˈmoʊni.əm/
• Rhymes with: -oʊniəm

Noun

pandemonium (plural: pandemonia)

1. A loud, wild, tumultuous protest, disorder, or chaotic situation, usually involving a crowd and often violent.

   Synonyms: chaos, bedlam

   “Whatever all this pandemonium means, I suppose the police station will help us.” — G. K. Chesterton

   “Whenever you have violent pandemonium, there's the overwhelming possibility for panic and tragedy.” — The Boston Globe, October 22, 2004

1. An outburst; loud, riotous uproar, especially of a crowd.

   Synonyms: outburst, uproar

   “Cue pandemonium in the stands.” — The Guardian, March 14, 2017

1. A group of parrots. (collective noun)

Derived terms

• pandemonic
• pandemoniac
• pandemoniacal
• pandemoniacally
• pandemoniac
• pandemoniacal
• pandemoniacally
• pandemonious
• pandemonium architecture
• pandemonium effect
• pandamonium
• fandemonium

Descendants

• Catalan: pandemònium
• Dutch: pandemonium
• French: pandémonium
• German: Pandämonium
• Greek: πανδαιμόνιο
• Italian: pandemonio
• Polish: pandemonium
• Portuguese: pandemónio / pandemônio
• Spanish: pandemonio
• Swedish: pandemonium
• Russian: пандемониум

Translations

Chaos; tumultuous protest or disorder

• Bulgarian: хаос
• Dutch: pandemonium, heksenketel
• Finnish: sekasorto, kaaos
• French: chaos
• German: Tohuwabohu, Tumult, Anarchie
• Greek: πανδαιμόνιο
• Polish: pandemonium
• Portuguese: pandemônio, pandemónio, caos
• Romanian: pandemoniu, haos
• Spanish: pandemonio
• Urdu: شور, افراتفری

Loud uproar

• Dutch: pandemonium
• Finnish: mekastus
• French: tumulte, charivari, chahut
• German: Aufruhr
• Portuguese: confusão, balbúrdia, tumulto

See also

• Pandæmonium
• all hell breaks loose

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

(Audio: Nl-pandemonium.ogg)

Noun

pandemonium (neuter)

1. The residence of all demons; hell.
2. A hellish chaos; terrible noise and disorder.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

pandemonium (neuter)

1. (antiquity) A temple for all gods and demigods.
2. The residence of all demons; hell.

   Synonym: helvete

---

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English pandemonium.

Noun

pandemonium (neuter, indeclinable)

1. (literary) Hell.

   Synonym: piekło

2. (literary) Chaos; tumultuous or lawless violence.

   Synonym: koszmar

---

Swedish

Alternative forms

• pandæmonium
• pandämonium (archaic)

Etymology

From English Pandæmonium. First attested 1815.

Noun

pandemonium (neuter)

1. (figuratively) A place where evil demons gather.
2. Pandemonium; chaos or uproar.

References

• Svenska Akademiens ordbok