Climax
/ˈklaɪ.mæks/noun
The highest or most intense point in a progression, event, or narrative.
Did you know?In ancient Greek, the root behind “climax” meant a literal ladder or staircase, and that same climbing image later became the name for the peak of a speech, story, or desire.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
klîmax (κλῖμαξ)
“A ladder, staircase, or climbing frame”
Late Greek / Hellenistic
Greek
klîmax
“A rhetorical device in which ideas rise step by step in force”
Late Latin
Latin
climax
“A borrowed rhetorical term for a graduated ascent”
16th Century
English
climax
“A rhetorical figure in which successive words or clauses rise in force”
19th Century
English
climax
“The highest or most intense point of a process or action”
Modern English
English
climax
“The peak or culminating point of an event, story, or process”