Emergency

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɪˈmɜː(ɹ).dʒən.si/

Definitions

1. A sudden, serious situation requiring immediate action to prevent harm or danger
2. A critical situation arising unexpectedly that demands prompt attention to avert potential disaster or injury
3. An urgent circumstance that occurs without warning and necessitates immediate intervention to ensure safety or resolve an issue

Etymology: The modern sense of "emergency" is a fairly recent narrowing. Its root is Latin "emergere," meaning "to rise up out of" or "to come forth," as when something surfaces from water. The Latin present participle "emergens" gave rise to Medieval Latin "emergentia," meaning a sudden arising or coming forth, and English borrowed the word from that medieval form. The word is a doublet of "emergence," a pair of words that descend from the same source by different routes. For centuries the English word kept that literal sense of emerging. It described the act of coming out or arising, and it carried no sense of alarm. The idea of an urgent, unexpected crisis developed only later, as the notion of something suddenly rising into view gradually shifted toward something suddenly demanding attention. By the time the crisis sense was firmly established, the word had moved far from the surface of the water.

Synonyms: crisis, urgency, disaster, catastrophe, calamity

Antonyms: safety, security, normalcy, stability, calm