Disruption
/dɪsˈrʌpʃən/noun
A major disturbance that interrupts or radically changes an established process, system, or pattern.
Did you know?The word ultimately belongs to the same Latin family as rupture, eruption, interruption, and bankruptcy—all built around the ancient image of breaking or bursting apart.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*reup-
“To tear, break, or snatch apart”
Classical Latin
Latin
rumpere
“To break, burst, or tear”
Classical Latin
Latin
disrumpere
“To break apart or shatter into pieces”
Late Latin
Latin
disruptio
“A breaking apart, interruption, or violent separation”
15th Century
English
disruption
“An act of breaking apart or interrupting”
Modern English
English
disruption
“A powerful interruption that alters an established system or process”