Juggernaut

Table of contents

1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Noun

English

Etymology

The word is derived from a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu avatar Krishna, the Sanskrit jagannath (जगन्नाथ), meaning "lord of the world". The destructive force meaning comes from the custom where worshippers allow themselves to be crushed under the sixteen wheels of a huge wagon on which the idol of Krishna is drawn in an annual procession in Puri, Orissa.

Noun

juggernaut

1. The term juggernaut is used to describe any literal or metaphorical force regarded as unstoppable; that will crush all in its path. In Britain, it is also used to refer to any large and heavy lorry. An older meaning is for any institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.