Word: doom Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm (“judgement”), from Proto-West Germanic *dōm, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos. Cognates Compare Dutch doem (“condemnation, doom; judgement”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish dom (“judgement”), Faroese and Icelandic dómur (“judgement”), Gothic 𐌳𐍉𐌼𐍃 (dōms, “insight, judgement”); also Ancient Greek θωμός (thōmós, “heap”), Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian ду́ма (dúma, “thought”), Polish duma (“pride”). Doublet of duma. See also deem. Pronunciation: /duːm/ 1. Destiny, especially terrible. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: This, for the night; by day, the web and loom, / And homely houſhold-taſk, ſhall be her doom, Example: "When should I expect him?" Roy said, resigned to his doom. 2. An undesirable fate; an impending severe occurrence or danger that seems inevitable. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: unlike Vincent, he wasn't quite taken in by the outbreak of hopefulness on all sides. After all, nothing about the tanks or the process had been resolved; an air of doom still hung undisturbed over the project. Example: Such paintings are inherently moody, and Elliott likes that-even as he carefully avoids dictating a specific mood. "Yesterday I painted the last light of the day-the trees looked pink, and the mountain's shadow was coming over them. It created a feeling of nostalgia... or impending doom... or still, quiet, peacefulness. It depends on the viewer's feelings about the scene, not just mine." 3. Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness, or despair. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: She halted her pacing steps as the ugly significance of Nicholas Caulfield's pending arrival washed over her. Ruin. Destitution. Doom settled like a heavy stone in her chest. Example: Feeling doom, as we learned in the beautiful folk language of blacks who knew the truth of it, began with a single unexpected oddity — a redbird out of season, hail out of cloudless skies, dogs cowering under the house 4. A law. Labels: countable, obsolete Example: "What ye will not that other men should do unto you, that do ye not unto other men." "From this one doom," comments Alfred, "a man may bethink him how he should judge every one rightly: he needs no other doombook." 5. A judgment or decision. Labels: countable, obsolete Example: And there he learned of things and haps to come, / To give foreknowledge true, and certain doom. Example: But the day of doome shall be the end of this time, and the beginning of the immortality for to come, wherein corruption is past. 6. A sentence or penalty for illegal behaviour. Labels: countable, obsolete Example: The first dooms of London provide especially the recovery of cattle belonging to the citizens. Example: Appeals were by our ancient law styled falsing of dooms. They were to be entered immediately after doom or sentence was pronounced, 7. Death. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: They met an untimely doom when the mineshaft caved in. Example: This is the day of doom for Bassianus. 8. The Last Judgment; or, an artistic representation thereof. Labels: capitalized, countable, sometimes, uncountable