释义 |
de·ba·cle \də̇ˈbäkəl, dāˈ-, dēˈ-, -ak-, -ȧk- sometimes dāˈbäk(lə) or dāˈbȧk(lə)\ noun (-s) Etymology: French débâcle, from débâcler to unbar, unbolt, from Middle French desbacler, from des- de- + bacler to bar, bolt, from Old Provençal baclar, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bacculare, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin bacculum stick, staff, alteration of Latin baculum — more at bacterium 1. a. (1) : a breaking up of ice in a river (2) : the rush (as of water and ice) that follows such a breaking up b. : a violent destructive flood 2. : a sudden breaking up or breaking loose : a violent dispersion or disruption (as of an army or mob) : stampede, rout < Custer's debacle on the Little Big Horn — Seth Agnew > 3. : a sudden breakdown : collapse < the Wall Street debacle of 1929 — Isabel Leighton > |