Pandemonism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A condition of noisy, wild disorder in which a crowd or place descends into chaos and confusion
2. The state of tumultuous uproar that overtakes a place when order collapses completely
3. Wild, chaotic disorder marked by loud confusion, as when a crowd or gathering loses all control

Etymology: Pandemonism is built from three plain parts. The prefix "pan-" comes from Greek "pan", meaning "all", and "demon" comes from Greek "daimon", a spirit or divinity. The suffix "-ism" marks a doctrine, practice or characteristic. Put together, the word names a tendency or philosophy centred on the idea of all things being divine or of a demonic presence running through everything. The noun follows the same pattern as older compounds with "pan-", such as "pantheism", where "theos" (god) is swapped for "daimon" (spirit). The coinage belongs to the same family of learned formations that English writers built freely from Greek parts, so the word reads as a deliberate piece of wordplay on a familiar model rather than something inherited from antiquity.

Synonyms: pandemonium, tumult, uproar