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thunderbolt

  (thŭn'dər-bōlt') pronunciation
n.
  1. A discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder.
  2. A flash of lightning conceived as a bolt or dart hurled from the heavens.
    1. One that acts with sudden and destructive fury.
    2. A startling, forceful action: “Every political campaign manager saves a thunderbolt for the last week before Election Day” (Art Buchwald).

 
 

Classical ornament, an attribute of Jupiter, in the form of a spiral roll, pointed at both ends, often held in the talons of an eagle, or shown winged, with arrow-headed, forked, or zig-zag lightning-flashes. It occurs on the soffits of Classical cornices (e.g. Vignola's mutule Doric Order) and in Empire schemes of decoration.

 
Wikipedia: thunderbolt
Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts
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Typical cartoon representations of thunderbolts

A thunderbolt is a traditional expression for a discharge of lightning or a symbolic representation thereof. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors[1], although this is not currently the case. As a divine manifestation it has been a powerful symbol throughout history, and has appeared in many mythologies. Drawing from this powerful association, the thunderbolt is often found in military symbolism and semiotic representations of electricity.

Lightning plays a role in many mythologies, often as the weapon of a sky and storm god. As such, it is an unsurpassed method of dramatic instantaneous retributive destruction: thunderbolts as divine weapons can be found in most mythologies. The most familiar thunderbolt weapon in the West was that of Zeus or Jupiter. His thunderbolts, manufactured by the cyclopic children of Gaia, were used to strike down impious criminals and divine opponents.

The thunderbolt continues into the modern world as a prominent symbol; it has entered modern heraldry and military iconography, typically depicted as winged and emitting flames.

In medieval Europe, fossil belemnites were said to be petrified thunderbolts.

See also

References

  1. ^ Clube V. & Napier B. 1982, The Cosmic Serpent, pg.173ff,

 
Translations: Translations for: Thunderbolt

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tordenkile

Nederlands (Dutch)
bliksem(straal), donderslag

Français (French)
n. - (Météo) foudre, (fig) coup de tonnerre

Deutsch (German)
n. - Blitzstrahl, Blitz, Donnerkeil

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αστροπελέκι, κεραυνός

Italiano (Italian)
fulmine, tuono

Português (Portuguese)
n. - raio (m), meteorito (m), ameaça terrível (f)

Русский (Russian)
удар молнии, неожиданность: "как гром среди ясного неба"

Español (Spanish)
n. - rayo, piedra de rayo, bomba

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - åskvigg, blixt, åskslag

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
霹雳, 意外的灾难, 雷电

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 霹靂, 意外的災難, 雷電

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 번개, 벼락, 격렬한 위협

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 雷電, 落雷, 思いがけないこと, 青天のへきれき, 青天の霹靂

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صاعقه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮ברק, חזיז, רעם ביום בהיר, אסון פתע, מקרה מזעזע‬


 
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American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture and Landscaping. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Copyright © 1999, 2006 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Thunderbolt" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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