Etymologically
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ecstatic

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Pronunciation

  • /ɛkˈstætɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐκστατικός (ekstatikós, “unstable, inclined to depart”),[2][3][4] directly or through Middle French extatique[5][6][7] and Medieval Latin ecstaticus.[8][7] The Greek adjective comes from ἔκστασις (ékstasis, “displacement; astonishment; trance”), the source of ecstasy,[2][3][4] from ἐξίστημι (exístēmi, “to put out of place”),[2][3][8] from ἐκ (ek, “out”) and ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to place, cause to stand”),[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand”).[3] Older spellings were extatic and exstatic.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mystically absorbed, in a trance: 1590s, according to Etymonline,[3] and Merriam-Webster gives 1590 as the first known use.[8] The OED's first record is from 1645, in Milton.[2]

Semantic evolution

At first the word described trance, stupor, frenzy or mystical absorption, the senses of ecstasy at the time.[2][3] From the 1660s it was used of intense feeling in general;[3][2] the OED's first example is from Henry More in 1664.[2] The feeling was not originally always a pleasant one, but it is now usually joy or delight.[3][2] The noun, a person subject to fits of ecstasy, dates from 1659,[2][8] and Byron used ecstatics sarcastically in 1821 for raptures.[2]

Timeline

  • 1590 – mystically absorbed, in a trance.[8][3]
  • 1645 – of the nature of trance or frenzy.[2]
  • 1659 – noun, a person subject to ecstasy.[2][8]
  • 1664 – marked by intense emotion, now chiefly delight.[2]
  • 1821 – plural noun, raptures (sarcastic).[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Feeling or showing great delight or enthusiasm: The fans gave the singer an ecstatic welcome.[9][8][2]
  2. Relating to, caused by or in a state of ecstasy, such as a trance or mystical rapture.[8][9][2]

Noun

  1. A person who is subject to trances or fits of ecstasy.[9][8][2]

Word family

  • ecstatically
  • unecstatic

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins