tectonic shift
a big change
TRANSLATION
tectonic shift = (geol.) die tektonische Erdverschiebung tectonic shift = (fig.) ein Ereignis von bahnbrechender Bedeutung, eine erdrutschartige Verschiebung --- GOOGLE INDEX tectonic shift: approximately 75,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The pace and frenzy is leading to talk of a TECTONIC SHIFT of Europe's auto industry from west to east.
(International Herald Tribune)
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"The leadership in the developed world, and people who should know better, still have not adjusted to the fact that China's growth is not just a modest change in global economic power and influence, but a TECTONIC SHIFT."
- James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank
(International Herald Tribune)
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"The leadership in the developed world, and people who should know better, still have not adjusted to the fact that China's growth is not just a modest change in global economic power and influence, but a TECTONIC SHIFT."
- James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank
Did you
know?
tectonic shift
noun phrase
- (geology) a change in the structural deformation of the earth's crust, i.e. the tectonic plates
- (fig.) having a strong and widespread impact
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WORD ORIGIN
Tectonics, (from the Greek tekton, builder), is a field of study within geology concerned with the structures within the Earth's (or other planets) crust and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.
Plate tectonics describe the large-scale movements of the Earth's outermost solid shell. This theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift that were developed during the first half of the 20th century, and seafloor spreading, which came to be known during the 1960s. It is generally believed that tectonic shifts occurring millions of years ago were responsible for the creation of the Earth's continents.
When the earth's tectonic plates move, the forces and energy that are released are of such a magnitude that earthquakes and tsunamis can occur. So figuratively speaking, a tectonic shift is an event that has powerful and broad implications of change. Examples might be the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the 2008 banking crisis or even inventions like the automobile, the telephone and the computer.
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Digital music and portable music players have caused a tectonic shift within the music industry."
noun phrase
- (geology) a change in the structural deformation of the earth's crust, i.e. the tectonic plates
- (fig.) having a strong and widespread impact
---
WORD ORIGIN
Tectonics, (from the Greek tekton, builder), is a field of study within geology concerned with the structures within the Earth's (or other planets) crust and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures.
Plate tectonics describe the large-scale movements of the Earth's outermost solid shell. This theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift that were developed during the first half of the 20th century, and seafloor spreading, which came to be known during the 1960s. It is generally believed that tectonic shifts occurring millions of years ago were responsible for the creation of the Earth's continents.
When the earth's tectonic plates move, the forces and energy that are released are of such a magnitude that earthquakes and tsunamis can occur. So figuratively speaking, a tectonic shift is an event that has powerful and broad implications of change. Examples might be the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, the 2008 banking crisis or even inventions like the automobile, the telephone and the computer.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Digital music and portable music players have caused a tectonic shift within the music industry."
