emergency

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin emergentia, from Latin emergens, present participle of emergo, equivalent to emergent + -cy or emerge + -ency. Doublet of emergence.

noun

1. A situation which poses an immediate risk and which requires urgent attention.
   Cardiac arrest is an emergency and if you find someone in cardiac arrest you should call 999 immediately.
2. The department of a hospital that treats emergencies.
   I've got a really bad disease It's got me begging on my hands and knees So take me to emergency Cause something seems to be missing 2009, “Restless Heart Syndrome”, in 21st Century Breakdown, performed by Green Day
3. An individual brought in at short notice to replace a member of staff, a player in a sporting team, etc.
   November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk Van Gaal responded by replacing Adnan Januzaj with Carrick and, in fairness, the emergency centre-half did exceedingly well given that he has not played since May.
4. (attributive) Arising from or used in an emergency.
   We also found that the only emergency egress from the tram was by smashing the front or rear windscreens, and that emergency lighting had failed when the tram overturned. December 29 2021, Dominique Louis, “Causal analysis: crashworthiness at Sandilands”, in RAIL, number 947, page 33
5. (archaic) The quality of being emergent; sudden or unexpected appearance; an unforeseen occurrence.