翻覆的規模
兩個意思其實是同一個「翻覆」畫面，差別只在翻的是多大一塊地方——所以放在同一族裡，靠大小來分。
large-scale disaster · noun · C2
A terrible event that causes great harm, pain, or death, often over a large area.
大災難
核心畫面
One way to hold it: everything turns over at once. Not a slow decline but a sudden flip — the whole situation upside down, and a lot of damage lying where it landed.
整個局面「一翻而過」。不是慢慢變糟，而是猛地翻覆——像一艘船整個翻過來，翻完之後滿地都是損壞。所以 catastro…更多收起
整個局面「一翻而過」。不是慢慢變糟，而是猛地翻覆——像一艘船整個翻過來，翻完之後滿地都是損壞。所以 catastrophe 通常帶著兩個特徵：來得急，而且翻過去就回不去原樣了。From the word’s history
From Greek katastrophḗ, from katá ("down") + stréphō ("to turn") — literally a turning-down, an overturning. In Greek drama it named the sudden turn where the plot flips to its end.
來自希臘文 katastrophḗ：katá（向下）+ stréphō（轉）——字面就是「向下一翻」。在希臘戲劇裡，它原本是個技術詞，指劇情急轉直下、把結局翻出來的那一刻。現代意思幾乎是把那個舞台動作搬到真實世界：翻覆的不再是劇情，而是人的生活。順帶一提，同一個 stréphō 也藏在 apostrophe（撇號）裡。
Wiktionary（catastrophe < Ancient Greek καταστροφή < κατά + στρέφω）
One branch
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
catastrophenoun/kəˈtæstɹəfi/
- 1
Any large and disastrous event of great significance.
- The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophe.
- Last night, after the brief sitting of the House of Lords, and before catastrophe befell the Government in the Commons, I had a long chat with the Premier, in which he discussed the Home Rule question and his relations with it in perfectly frank manner.
- 2
businessinsuranceA disaster beyond expectations.
- 3
human-scienceslinguisticsnarratologyThe dramatic event that initiates the resolution of the plot; the dénouement.
- Pat : he comes like the Cataſtrophe of the old Comedie : my Cue is villanous Melancholly, with a ſighe like Tom o’ Bedlam.
- 4
mathematicssciencesA type of bifurcation, where a system shifts between two stable states.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。