The word "collapsed" is spelled with two consecutive consonants, "ll" and "ps", which can make it challenging for some English language learners to pronounce correctly. The IPA phonetic transcription of "collapsed" is /kəˈlæpst/, and it includes a short "a" sound, followed by a "p" sound, and then a "t" sound at the end. The two "l" sounds create a double consonant, making "collapsed" pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable, "laps."
Collapsed is an adjective that describes something that has crumbled, fallen in, or lost its structural integrity. When an object, structure, or system collapses, it undergoes a sudden and complete breakdown, ceasing to function in a normal or intended manner. It often implies a failure of support, structural weakness, or the overwhelming force exerted on it.
The term can apply to physical objects like buildings, bridges, or tunnels that have caved in, giving way to a shapeless heap of debris. It can also refer to a person who has fainted or fallen to the ground due to extreme exhaustion, illness, or shock. In a metaphorical sense, collapsed can be used to describe an economy, a company, or any organizational entity that has experienced a dramatic and sudden decline, leading to a state of disarray or chaos.
Furthermore, the word collapsed can indicate the failure or disintegration of a relationship, such as a friendship or a marriage, where it denotes a complete breakdown of communication or mutual understanding. Additionally, in the realm of linguistics, the term collapsed can describe the merging or blending of phonetic sounds within a language, resulting in the loss of distinct articulation.
Overall, collapsed denotes a state of sudden and total breakdown, whether it be physical, emotional, organizational, or linguistic, signifying a loss of structure, cohesion, or functionality.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word collapsed is derived from the Latin word collapsus, which is the past participle of the verb collabi. Collabi combines the prefix com- (meaning together or with) and labi (meaning to fall or to slide). Ultimately, the Latin root can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root *leb- which also means to fall or to hang down.