inferno
noun/ɪnˈfɜːnəʊ/
/ɪnˈfɜːrnəʊ/
[usually singular] (plural infernos)
- a very large dangerous fire that is out of control
- a blazing/raging inferno
- The flames quickly turned the house into a raging inferno.
- Three men managed to escape from the inferno.
Word Originmid 19th cent.: from Italian, from Christian Latin infernus ‘below, underground’, used by Christians to mean ‘hell’, on the pattern of inferni (masculine plural) ‘the shades’ and inferna (neuter plural) ‘the lower regions’.Want to learn more?
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