Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "Charybdis" tana nufin wani dodon ruwa na tatsuniyoyi a cikin tatsuniyoyi na Girka, wanda ke cikin mashigin Messina tsakanin Italiya da Sicily. An yi imanin cewa guguwa ce mai haɗari da za ta iya tsotse jiragen ruwa zuwa zurfin teku. A amfani da zamani, ana amfani da kalmar "Charybdis" a misaltacciya don yin nuni ga yanayin da ke haifar da babban haɗari ko haɗari, ko kuma ga wani mutum ko abin da ke haifar da matsala ko matsaloli akai-akai.