thunderbolt

English

Etymology

From thunder +‎ bolt.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈθʌndə(ɹ)ˌboʊlt/
Audio (US) (file)

Noun

thunderbolt (plural thunderbolts)

A flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder.
News of the actress’s death came as a thunderbolt to her fans.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:
  Our quiuering Lances ſhaking in the aire, / And bullets like Ioues dreadfull Thunderbolts, / Enrolde in flames and fiery ſmoldering miſtes, / Shall threat the Gods more than Cyclopian warres, […]
(figuratively) An event that is terrible, horrific or unexpected.
- 1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
  the Scipios' worth, those thunderbolts of war
- 1819, Lord Byron, Mazeppa, a Poem, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza I, page 5, lines 13–14:
  A greater wreck, a deeper fall, / A shock to one—a thunderbolt to all.
Vehement threatening or censure; especially, ecclesiastical denunciation; fulmination.
- 1627, G[eorge] H[akewill], An Apologie of the Power and Prouidence of God in the Gouernment of the World. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Iohn Lichfield and William Turner, […], →OCLC:
  a thunder-bolt of warre Striking all Nations
(soccer) A very powerful shot.
- 2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC‎:
  Substitute Niko Kranjcar's injury-time thunderbolt gave Tottenham a dramatic win over Bolton.
(paleontology) A belemnite, or thunderstone.
(heraldry) A charge in the form of two joined bundles with four rays of lightning emerging from them, resembling the thunderbolt of Jupiter.
A daring or irresistible hero.

Derived terms

thunderbolt beetle

Translations

flash of lightning accompanied by thunder

Arabic: صَاعِقَة (ṣāʕiqa)
Bulgarian: мълния (bg) f (mǎlnija), гръмотевица (bg) f (grǎmotevica)
Catalan: raig de llamp m (literally “ray of lightning”), llampec (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 霹靂／霹雳 (zh) (pīlì), 迅雷 (zh) (xùnléi)
Chuvash: ҫиҫӗм (śiś̬ĕm)
Dutch: bliksemstraal (nl), donderstraal (nl), donderslag (nl)
Finnish: salamanisku (fi), ukkosenjyrähdys, salama (fi)
French: coup de tonnerre (fr) m
Friulian: folc m, saete f, sfulmin
Galician: lóstrego (gl) m
German: Donnerkeil (de) m, Blitzstrahl (de) m, Blitz mit Donnerschlag m
Greek: κεραυνός (el) m (keravnós), αστραπή (el) f (astrapí)
Ancient: κεραυνός m (keraunós)
Hungarian: villámcsapás (hu)
Istriot: sàita f
Italian: fulmine (it), folgore (it), saetta (it), lampo (it)
Japanese: 雷 (ja) (かみなり, kaminari), 落雷 (ja) (らくらい, rakurai)
Korean: 벼락 (ko) (byeorak)
Latin: fulmen n, tonitrus m, ictus fulminis m, ictus fulgōris m
Low German: Blitzsteen m
Malayalam: മിന്നൽപ്പിണർ (ml) (minnalppiṇaṟ), ദംഭോളി (ml) (dambhōḷi), അശനി (ml) (aśani), ഇടിവാൾ (ml) (iṭivāḷ)
Maori: epa
Norman: foudre f
Ottoman Turkish: یلدرم (yıldırım), صاعقه (saʿika)
Persian: رعد و برق (ra'd-o-barq), صاعقه (fa) (sâ'eqe), آذرخش (fa) (âzaraxš)
Polish: piorun (pl) m
Portuguese: raio (pt) m (especially of lightning)
Romanian: fulger (ro) n
Russian: уда́р мо́лнии m (udár mólnii), перу́н (ru) m (perún) (dated, poetic)
Sanskrit: अशनि (sa) f (aśani), कुलिश (sa) (kuliśa), वज्र (sa) (vajra)
Spanish: rayo (es) m (especially of lightning)
Swedish: vigg (sv) c, tordön (sv) c, åskknall (sv) c
Tajik: соиқа (tg) (soyiqa)
Telugu: పిడుగు (te) (piḍugu)
Thai: สายฟ้า (th) (sǎai-fáa)
Turkish: yıldırım (tr)
Venetian: sita f, saéta f
Welsh: taranau, taranfollt

an event that is terrible, horrific or unexpected

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: järkytys (fi)
Greek: κεραυνός (el) m (keravnós)
Korean: 벼락 (ko) (byeorak)
Polish: grom z jasnego nieba m
Russian: гром среди́ я́сного не́ба (ru) m (grom sredí jásnovo néba)
Spanish: please add this translation if you can
Telugu: పిడుగుపాటు (piḍugupāṭu)

Verb

thunderbolt (third-person singular simple present thunderbolts, present participle thunderbolting, simple past and past participle thunderbolted)

(transitive, rare) To strike with a thunderbolt.
(rare) To move swiftly and violently.

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