bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

English

Etymology

Coined by Irish novelist and poet James Joyce in his 1939 novel Finnegans Wake (see quote) as a sequence of apparently random 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. According to Roland McHugh, the term is an amalgam of the words for "thunder" in several different languages; see the collapsible box for his breakdown.

    Details

"gharagh": Hindi गरज (garaj) "kamminar": Japanese 雷(かみなり) (kaminari) "bronnto": Ancient Greek or Greek βροντάω (vrontáo) "tonnerr": French tonnerre "tuonn": Italian tuono "thunn": Old Romanian tun (but words from various other Germanic or Romance languages could fit here too) "trova": Portuguese trovão "awnska": Swedish åska "toohoohoordenen": Danish tordenen "thurnuk": Irish toirneach Other sources give slightly different decompositions. Some common suggestions include: "bababadal": Babel "gharaghta": Hindi गड़गड़ाहट (gaṛagṛāhaṭ) "skawn": Irish scán (“crack”) (?)

Interjection

bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

1. (onomatopoeia, nonce word, humorous) Representing a protracted sound of thundering or crashing.
   • 1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC, part I, page 3:

     The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.

   • 1977, Jim Stratton, Pioneering in the Urban Wilderness, New York, N.Y.: Urizen Books, →ISBN, page 204, column 2:

     The tornado hit. The roof went “bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!” as the aluminum was lifted up and down by the wind and vacuum. Its gaskets were loosened by the Passing Presence, the roof became a sieve. The torrents came down, pouring at will through roof joints.

   • 2005 June 10, “Arts Listings”, in The Austin Chronicle, Austin, T.X.: Austin Chronicle Corporation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 71:

     Now you don't have to settle for seeing it parodied on The Simpsons; now you can see the real thing as this internationally acclaimed explosion of Irish music, song, and especially dance returns. "Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!" as the thunder might say.

   • 2016 August 30, Melinda Snodgrass, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, editors, High Stakes: A Wild Cards Novel (Wild Cards; 23), New York, N.Y.: Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 333:

     "I have just one thing to say, then we'll go back to our office," Barbara said. "And that's this: Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!" With that, she released her wild card power, letting it spread over the entire hall.

   • 2023, Tom Comitta, The Nature Book, Minneapolis, M.N.: Coffee House Press, →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk! Crash! Crash! Crash! It is the trees falling to earth.