Mayhem
nounA state of violent disorder, confusion, or chaos.
How to spell mayhem
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce mayhem
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does mayhem mean?
- nounA state of violent disorder, confusion, or chaos.
Mayhem in a sentence
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The power cut caused complete mayhem in the call centre.
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Total mayhem broke out when the fire alarm went off during the exam.
Where does mayhem come from?
Language of origin: French
Mayhem entered English through Anglo-Norman and Old French legal language in the medieval period, where forms such as mahaim and mahem meant a maiming or a violent injury. As a term of English law it named the specific offence of deliberately wounding a person so as to deprive them of a limb or the use of one, leaving them less able to defend themselves. It comes from the same Old French root that gave English the plainer verb 'maim', so the two words are essentially twins that drifted apart in spelling and sense. Over the centuries the strict legal meaning loosened, and by the 1800s mayhem was being used loosely for any scene of violent disorder, destruction, or chaos. That broadened, everyday sense is now far more common than the original courtroom one, which is why the violent origin behind the cheerful-looking 'may' often surprises people.
How the word is built
- mayhem (a single root from Anglo-Norman mahem 'maiming, injury'; the same root that gives the verb 'maim')
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