doom

Etymology

From Middle English doom, dom, from Old English dōm (“judgement”), from Proto-West Germanic *dōm, from Proto-Germanic *dōmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos. Compare West Frisian doem, Dutch doem, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish dom, Icelandic dómur. Doublet of duma. See also deem.

noun

1. Destiny, especially terrible.
   "When should I expect him?" Roy said, resigned to his doom. 2007, Billy Lee Brammer, “Fustian Days: Book One: Sonic Goddam Boom”, in Southwest Review, volume 92, number 4, page 495
   We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. You cannot escape your doom. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Virmire
   "After he takes the throne, you will be arrested." / "You lie like your master, Carfax. Your doom is sealed." December 11, 2009, Karen Gormandy, “Robin Hood”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 59, number 8, page 4
2. An undesirable fate; an impending severe occurrence or danger that seems inevitable.
   unlike Vincent, he wasn't quite taken in by the outbreak of hopefulness on all sides. After all, nothing about the tanks or the process had been resolved; an air of doom still hung undisturbed over the project. 2004, Arthur Miller, “The Turpentine Still”, in Southwest Review, volume 89, number 4, page 479
   Such paintings are inherently moody, and Elliott likes that-even as he carefully avoids dictating a specific mood. "Yesterday I painted the last light of the day-the trees looked pink, and the mountain's shadow was coming over them. It created a feeling of nostalgia... or impending doom... or still, quiet, peacefulness. It depends on the viewer's feelings about the scene, not just mine." 2007 February, Bob Bahr, “Tapestries in Oil”, in American Artist, volume 71, number 773, page 45
   Chung was the first of its four picks in Round 2. His arrival might spell doom for Rodney Harrison. April 27, 2009, Nate Davis, “After Lions^ gamble, lots of big men tapped”, in USA Today, Sports, page 7C
3. Dread; a feeling of danger, impending danger, darkness, or despair.
   She halted her pacing steps as the ugly significance of Nicholas Caulfield's pending arrival washed over her. Ruin. Destitution. Doom settled like a heavy stone in her chest. 2006, Sophie Jordan, Once upon a wedding night
   Feeling doom, as we learned in the beautiful folk language of blacks who knew the truth of it, began with a single unexpected oddity — a redbird out of season, hail out of cloudless skies, dogs cowering under the house 2007, Terry Kay, William J. Scheick, The Year the Lights Came on, page 204
   I'm taking medications every day; never thinking I would be spiraling into nothing but a nightmare that made me feel doom. 2008, Beverly Fincham, Real Life Freedom, page 25
   Then the smiling narrator filled me with doom: I was expected to pull my own rip cord. I nearly fainted. 2009 March, Deanna Roy, “Forget the rules and make the leap”, in Writer, volume 122, number 3, page 15
   perhaps you do that most rare of things when reading the news: You grin, exhale, stop feeling doom in every crevasse and corner of your body. July 20, 2010, Mark Morford, “What to do when it all goes right”, in San Francisco Chronicle
4. (countable, obsolete) A law.
   "What ye will not that other men should do unto you, that do ye not unto other men." "From this one doom," comments Alfred, "a man may bethink him how he should judge every one rightly: he needs no other doombook." 1915, Beatrice Adelaide Lees, Alfred the Great: the truth teller, maker of England, 848-899, page 211
5. (countable, obsolete) A judgment or decision.
   And there he learned of things and haps to come, / To give foreknowledge true, and certain doom. 1600, Edward Fairfax, transl., Jerusalem Delivered, translation of Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso
   Kings are spoken of as if they had a store of "Themistes" ready to hand for use; but it must be distinctly understood that they are not laws, but judgments, or, to take the exact Teutonic equivalent, "dooms." 1861, Henry Sumner Maine, Ancient Law, page 22
   when Alfred in turn set himself to the task of stating and interpreting the law of his kingdom, there were already precedents for him to follow, in the written "dooms" (domas) of his predecessors, — themselves but a small portion of the still unwritten custom 1915, Beatrice Adelaide Lees, Alfred the Great: the truth teller, maker of England, 848-899, page 208
   Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda. 1977, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion, page 88
6. (countable, obsolete) A sentence or penalty for illegal behaviour.
   The first dooms of London provide especially the recovery of cattle belonging to the citizens. 1874, John Richard Green, A Short History of the English People
   Appeals were by our ancient law styled falsing of dooms. They were to be entered immediately after doom or sentence was pronounced, 1828, John Erskine, Sir George Mackenzie, James Ivory, An institute of the law of Scotland, page 989
7. Death.
   They met an untimely doom when the mineshaft caved in.
   This is the day of doom for Bassianus. 1593, William Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus
   Harley got devoured by the undead / Lurking down in some old wizard's tomb / You can say there's no such thing as zombies / But that's how Harley Warren met his doom 2006, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, “Harley Got Devoured by the Undead”, in An Even Scarier Solstice
   The engines were rumbling, missing every now and then, and Rachel leaned back in her seat, prepared to meet her doom somewhere over the Pacific. At least there was a priest at hand -- maybe she could entice him to hear a final confession. 2009, Anne Kristin Stuart, Tangled lies
8. (sometimes capitalized) The Last Judgment; or, an artistic representation thereof.

verb

1. (transitive) To pronounce judgment or sentence on; to condemn.
   a criminal doomed to death
   Absolves the just, and dooms the guilty souls.
   There was certainly plenty of badass Arya before and after—more on that soon—but here was Arya the living, breathing human, outnumbered and petrified of making the one slight wrong move that would doom her. 28 April 2019, Alex McLevy, “Game Of Thrones Suffers the Fog of War in the Battle against the Dead (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-05-31
2. To destine; to fix irrevocably the ill fate of.
3. (obsolete) To judge; to estimate or determine as a judge.
4. (obsolete) To ordain as a penalty; hence, to mulct or fine.
5. (archaic, US, New England) To assess a tax upon, by estimate or at discretion.