cascade
n. countable B2 Upper Intermediate US //kæˈskeɪd// UK //kɐskˈeɪd// cas·cade
n. a large number of things happening or falling one after another, like water in a waterfall. You use this when one event triggers a chain of other events.
n. a series of events or actions following one another in quick succession, often triggered by an initial cause. Metaphorical extension of the physical sense of falling water.
The news caused a cascade of phone calls.
The software update triggered a cascade of errors across the entire network.
The initial policy change set off a cascade of economic shifts that reshaped the local market within months.
From French cascade, from Italian cascata, from cascare (“to fall”), from Vulgar Latin cāsicāre, derived from Latin cadere, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱh₂d-.