The word "disaster" comes from the Italian "disastro," which combines "dis-" (bad/unfavorable) and "astro" (star). It literally means "bad star" or "unfavorable stellar aspect."
This reveals how deeply astrology was woven into ancient culture - catastrophes were believed to be caused by unfortunate planetary alignments and celestial configurations.
Other star-related words include "influenza" (from "influence" of the stars), "consider" (with the stars), and "desire" (from the stars).