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Nov 1, 2003

This week's theme
Words derived from Sanskrit

This week's words
karma
avatar
nirvana
pundit
juggernaut

Next week’s theme
Eponyms

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juggernaut

noun
1. Anything requiring blind sacrifice.
2. A massive relentless force, person, institution, etc. that crushes everything in its path.

From Hindi jagannath (a title of Krishna, a Hindu god), from Sanskrit jagannath, from jagat (world) + nath (lord). A procession of Lord Jagannath takes place each year at Puri (India). Devotees pull a huge cart carrying the deity. Some have been accidentally crushed under the wheels (or are said to have thrown themselves under them).

"Sergio Cragnotti, the Lazio chairman, had spent some £200 million to assemble the juggernaut squad that won the title in the 1999-2000 season."
Lazio Become a Shining Example; The Times (London, UK); Oct 19, 2003.

"While Apple Computer has finally made its long-anticipated move to license Macintosh technology to computer manufacturers, this is only the beginning of its strategy to challenge the Microsoft juggernaut."
IT Digest; Jan 19, 1995.

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