deluge

Etymology

From Old French deluge, alteration of earlier deluvie, from Latin dīluvium, from lavō (“wash”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl.juːdʒ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛl.ju(d)ʒ/, /dəˈlu(d)ʒ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

deluge (plural deluges)

1. A great flood or rain.

   The deluge continued for hours, drenching the land and slowing traffic to a halt.

2. An overwhelming amount of something; anything that overwhelms or causes great destruction.

   The rock concert was a deluge of sound.

   • Milton

     A fiery deluge fed / With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed.

   • Lowell

     The little bird sits at his door in the sun, / Atilt like a blossom among the leaves, / And lets his illumined being o'errun / With the deluge of summer it receives.

3. (Military engineering) A damage control system on navy warships which is activated by excessive temperature within the Vertical Launching System.
   • NAVEDTRA 14324A

     In the event of a restrained firing or canister overtemperature condition, the deluge system sprays cooling water within the canister until the overtemperature condition no longer exists.

Verb

deluge (third-person singular simple present deluges, present participle deluging, simple past and past participle deluged)

1. (transitive) To flood with water.
2. (transitive) To overwhelm.

   After the announcement, they were deluged with requests for more information.

See also

• inundate

Etymology

From Latin dīluvium.

Noun

deluge m (oblique plural deluges, nominative singular deluges, nominative plural deluge)

1. large flood