bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

English

Etymology

Coined by James Joyce in his 1939 novel Finnegans Wake (see quote) as a sequence of apparently random syllables, representing the sound of a thunderclap associated with the fall of Adam and Eve. The word is one of ten "thunderwords" in the book. According to Roland McHugh, the term is an amalgam of the words for "thunder" in several different languages; see the collapsible box for his breakdown.[1]

Details

"gharagh": Hindi गरज (garaj)
"kamminar": Japanese 雷(かみなり) (kaminari)
"bronnto": Ancient Greek or Greek βροντάω (vrontáo)
"tonnerr": French tonnerre
"tuonn": Italian tuono
"thunn": Old Romanian tun (but words from various other Germanic or Romance languages could fit here too)
"trova": Portuguese trovão
"awnska": Swedish åska
"toohoohoordenen": Danish tordenen
"thurnuk": Irish toirneach

Other sources give slightly different decompositions. Some common suggestions include:[2][3]

"bababadal": Babel
"gharaghta": Hindi गड़गड़ाहट (gaṛagṛāhaṭ)
"skawn": Irish scán (“crack”) (?)

Interjection

bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

(onomatopoeia, humorous) Representing a protracted sound of thundering or crashing.
- 1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, OCLC 715577589; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, OCLC 867955333:
  The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.
- 1977, Jim Stratton, Pioneering in the Urban Wilderness, Urizen Books, →ISBN, page 204:
  The tornado hit. The roof went "bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!" as the aluminum was lifted up and down by the wind and vacuum. Its gaskets were loosened by the Passing Presence, the roof became a sieve.
- 1981, Melinda Snodgrass, High Stakes, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, page 333:
  "I have just one thing to say, then we'll go back to our office," Barbara said. "And that's this: Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!" With that, she released her wild card power, letting it spread over the entire hall.

References

Roland McHugh (1980) Annotations to Finnegans Wake, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 3
Decapitated Soul (2020), “Meaning of "bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthur-nuk!"”, in Stack Exchange
“bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk”, in Finnegans Wake Extensible Elucidation Treasury (FWEET), n.d.

[1] Roland McHugh (1980) Annotations to Finnegans Wake, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 3

[2] Decapitated Soul (2020), “Meaning of "bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthur-nuk!"”, in Stack Exchange

[3] “bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk”, in Finnegans Wake Extensible Elucidation Treasury (FWEET), n.d.