See also: Emergency

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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    Borrowed from Medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergens, present participle of emergo (to emerge, arise, come forth), equivalent to emergent +‎ -cy or emerge +‎ -ency. Doublet of emergence.

    Pronunciation

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    • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪˈmɜː(ɹ).dʒən.si/
    • (US) IPA(key): /ɪˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/, /iˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/, /əˈmɝ.d͡ʒən.si/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • (General Australian) IPA(key): /əˈmɜː(ɹ).dʒən.si/
    • Hyphenation: e‧mer‧gen‧cy
    • Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒənsi

    Noun

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    emergency (plural emergencies)

    1. (sometimes attributive) A situation which poses an immediate risk and which requires urgent attention.
      Cardiac arrest is an emergency requiring medical attention.
      • 2021 December 29, Dominique Louis, “Causal analysis: crashworthiness at Sandilands”, in RAIL, number 947, page 33:
        We also found that the only emergency egress from the tram was by smashing the front or rear windscreens, and that emergency lighting had failed when the tram overturned.
    2. The department of a hospital that treats emergencies.
      • 2009, “Restless Heart Syndrome”, in 21st Century Breakdown, performed by Green Day:
        I've got a really bad disease
        It's got me begging on my hands and knees
        So take me to emergency
        Cause something seems to be missing
    3. A person brought in at short notice to replace a member of staff, a player in a sporting team, etc.
    4. (archaic) The quality of being emergent; sudden or unexpected appearance; an unforeseen occurrence.
    5. (euphemistic) A critical urge to urinate or defecate.

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    See also

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