juggernaut

Definition

A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.

Etymology

Borrowed in the 17th century into British English in India, from Hindustani جگنّاتھ / जगन्नाथ (jagannāth) or Odia ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ (jagannātha), from Sanskrit जगन्नाथ (jagannātha, “Lord of the Universe”) (Jagannatha), a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna. The sense comes from witnessing the Rath Yatra (chariot parade) at Puri, Orissa, a huge annual procession which features a wagon of the idol of Jagannath; pulled with ropes by hundreds of devotees, the wagon develops considerable momentum and becomes unstoppable. The r was not originally pronounced: for non-rhotic dialects of British English, the spelling with -er- accurately suggests the Hindi pronunciation of the second vowel (a schwa); compare e.g. gorm. The spelling of the ending was influenced by the suffix -naut (“traveller, voyager”). Doublet of Jagannath.

Example Sentences

• "[…] poor Johnny Tetterby staggering under his Moloch of an infant, the Juggernaut that crushes all his enjoyments."
• "McCarthy will point to their bad luck but the statistics now show that Wolves have lost four league matches and have claimed one point from a possible 15 - so it may prove to be another difficult season for the Midlands side. In contrast, the Newcastle juggernaut rolls on."
• "The fact that the juggernaut of Indian English rolls inexorably on, largely unconcerned by the academic arguments taking place about it, is in itself an indicator of an endonormative force in the variety, and this can be traced historically."