Fracas

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfɹækɑː/

Definitions

1. A loud and noisy quarrel involving several people that causes a public disturbance
2. An uproarious fight or brawl marked by noise and confusion among participants
3. A chaotic and noisy altercation that draws attention due to its disorderly nature

Etymology: Fracas arrived in English from French, where it had earlier entered from Italian. Its Italian source, "fracassare", means to smash or shatter noisily, and the sense of a crash of breaking things is still audible in the word. The Italian verb is built from "fra-", an intensifying prefix, and "cassare", meaning to break or annul. That second element comes from Latin "quassare", to shake violently or batter, which is also the root of "quash" in its older sense of crushing or shaking to pieces. So the word began as a sound-picture of things smashing together, and only later narrowed to the human version of that noise. A fracas is a clamour of people fighting in public, the din of a brawl rather than the breaking of crockery. Its sense has stayed close to that original clatter ever since.

Synonyms: dispute, altercation, brawl, quarrel, commotion

Antonyms: peace, harmony, calm, agreement, concord