juggernaut

Meanings

1. A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.
2. A large, cumbersome truck or lorry, especially an articulated lorry.
3. An institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.

1. Jagannath, the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna.

Etymology

Borrowed in the 17th century into British English in India, either through Hindustani جَگَنَّاتھ (jagannāth) / जगन्नाथ (jagannāth) or directly from Odia ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ (jagannātha), ultimately from Sanskrit ज॒ग॒न्ना॒थ (jagannāthá, “lord of universe”) (Jagannatha), a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna. The sense comes from witnessing the Rath Yatra (chariot parade) at Puri, Odisha, a huge annual procession which features a wagon of the idol of Jagannath; pulled with ropes by hundreds of devotees, the wagon develops considerable momentum and becomes unstoppable. The r was not originally pronounced: for non-rhotic dialects of British English, the spelling with -er- accurately suggests the Hindi pronunciation of the second vowel (a schwa); compare e.g. gorm. The spelling of the ending was influenced by the suffix -naut (“traveller, voyager”). Doublet of Jagannath.