juggernaut

(17th century) From Hindustani Hindi जगन्नाथ (jagannāth)/Oriya ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ (jôgônnathô)/ Urdu جگنّاتھ‎ (jagannāth), from Sanskrit जगन्नाथ (jagannātha, “lord of the universe”) (Jagannath), a title for the Hindu deity Vishnu's avatar Krishna. English form influenced by suffix -naut (“sailor”).

From British colonial era in India, witnessing the Rath Yatra (chariot parade) at Puri, Orissa. The festival features a huge annual procession, with a wagon of the idol of Lord Krishna. Pulled with ropes by hundreds of devotees, the wagon develops considerable momentum and becomes unstoppable.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʌ.ɡə.nɔːt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdʒʌ.ɡɚ.nɑt/

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juggernaut (plural juggernauts)

1. A literal or metaphorical force or object regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path.
   • 2015 February 23, “Oscars 2015: 10 things we learned”, in The Guardian (London)‎:

     It’s always fun when something massive comes along and sweeps the board, giving everything else a thoroughly good kicking – think Titanic, The Silence of the Lambs, or Lord of the Rings. There’s a sort of deranged, gluttonous feeling, a perverse glee in seeing so many dreams trampled on by a massive cultural juggernaut.

   • 2011 October 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Wolverhampton 1 - 2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport‎:

     McCarthy will point to their bad luck but the statistics now show that Wolves have lost four league matches and have claimed one point from a possible 15 - so it may prove to be another difficult season for the Midlands side.
     In contrast, the Newcastle juggernaut rolls on.

2. (Britain, sometimes derogatory) A large, cumbersome truck or lorry, especially an artic.
3. An institution that incites destructive devotion or to which people are carelessly sacrificed.

• 1895— H. G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance, ch XII

  Anon Mr. Hoopdriver found himself riding out of the darkness of non-existence, pedalling Ezekiel's Wheels across the Weald of Surrey, jolting over the hills and smashing villages in his course, while the other man in brown cursed and swore at him and shouted to stop his career. There was the Putney heath-keeper, too, and the man in drab raging at him. He felt an awful fool, a- -what was it?--a juggins, ah!--a Juggernaut.