The act of colliding violently with something, or a sound of something breaking loudly; can also mean failing suddenly.
From Old Norse 'krasa' meaning to shatter. The word evolved through Middle English to describe both the violent collision and the sound it produces, eventually extending to mean sudden failure or collapse.
The word 'crash' became especially meaningful after the 1929 stock market crash—suddenly a word about sounds became synonymous with economic catastrophe, showing how a single word can carry the weight of historical trauma.
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