# bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk

> English word · Interjection · IPA /bɑ.bɑ.bɑ.dɑl.ɡɑɹ.ɑɡ.tək.ɑ.mi.nə.roʊn.koʊn.bɹoʊn.toʊ.nə.ɹoʊn.tu.ɑn.θuːn.tɹoʊ.vɑ.ɹuːn.ɑn.skoʊn.tu.hu.hɔːɾ.diː.nuːn.θuəɹ.nʊk/

## Definitions
1. Representing a protracted sound of thundering or crashing.

## Etymology
Coined by Irish novelist and poet James Joyce in the 1939 novel Finnegans Wake (see quote) as a sequence of syllables representing the sound of a thunderclap associated with the fall of Adam and Eve. The word is one of ten "thunderwords" in the book. Most commentators agree that the term is an amalgam of the words for "thunder" in several different languages:
Details
Suggestions by those other than McHugh are given in parentheses.
* "bababadal": N/A, (Babel)
* "gharaghta": Hindi गरज (garaj), (Hindi गड़गड़ाहट (gaṛagṛāhaṭ))
* "kamminarr": Japanese 雷 (kaminari)
* "onnkonn": (Finnish ukkonen)
* "bronn(to)": Ancient Greek βροντάω (brontáō) and Greek βροντάω (vrontáo)
* "(to)nnerronn": French tonnerre
* "tuonn": Italian tuono
* "thunn": Old Romanian tun, (Scots thunner)
* "trovarr": Portuguese trovão
* "hounawnskawn": Swedish åska
* "toohoohoordenen": Danish tordenen
* "thurnuk": Irish toirneach

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk