ecstasy

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛkstəsi/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English extasie, borrowed from Old French extasie,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Late Latin extasis,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Ancient Greek ἔκστασις (ékstasis, “displacement; astonishment; trance”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from existánai “to put out of place; to drive out of one's mind”,^[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐκ (ek, “out”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to place, cause to stand”).^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The state of being beside oneself, thrown into a frenzy or stupor by fear, astonishment or passion (1382 in the OED; about 1384 in Barnhart).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the New Testament Greek ékstasis meant a trance.^[4] In the 17th century mystical writers used ecstasy for a state of rapture in which the body was stupefied while the soul contemplated divine things,^[4][7] which probably helped the shift to “an exalted state of good feeling, intense delight” (1526 in the OED; 1610s in Etymonline).^[7][4] In medicine it also named states of trance (1598).^[7] Since 1985 Ecstasy has been a slang name for the drug MDMA.^[4][5]

Timeline

• 1382 – frenzy or stupor.^[7]
• 1526 – rapture, intense delight.^[7]
• 1590 – ecstatic.^[3]
• before 1652 – mystical rapture.^[7]
• 1985 – the drug MDMA.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Intense joy or delight; rapture.
2. A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.
3. The trance or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.
4. (often capitalized) The drug MDMA, used illicitly for its mood-enhancing effects.

Related words

• ecstatic
• rapture
• stasis
• transport

Usage notes

The AHD distinguishes ecstasy, originally a trance-like state and now usually intense delight, from rapture, transport (being carried away by strong emotion) and exaltation (elevated, often excessive passion).^[2] Random House adds that ecstasy can be of any overpowering emotion, such as rage or grief.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press