Etymologically
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fanatic

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fəˈnæt.ɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fānāticus (“inspired by a god, frenzied; of a temple”),[2][3][4][5][6] from fānum “temple”,[2][3][4][5] related to fēstus “festive” and so to English feast.[4][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mad person (about 1525),[4][7][5] and as an adjective, frenzied or furious as if possessed by a god or demon (1533).[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word described people inspired by orgiastic temple rites.[2][6] From madness, the sense shifted in the 1640s to excessive and mistaken enthusiasm, especially in religion;[7][4][5] in the later 17th century it was a hostile name for Nonconformists.[7][5] From 1790 it meant a devotee of anything,[7] which gave rise to the shortened fan.[1]

Timeline

  • c1525 – noun, a mad person.[7][4]
  • 1533 – adjective, frantic, furious.[7][4]
  • 1550 – fanatical.[4]
  • 1644 – noun, an unreasoning enthusiast.[7]
  • 1647 – adjective, excessively zealous.[7][4]
  • 1652 – fanaticism.[4]
  • 1790 – a fanatical devotee of something.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A person with an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a religious or political cause.

Adjective

  1. Fanatical; marked by excessive enthusiasm and uncritical devotion.

Word family

  • fanatically
  • fan
  • fanaticism

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary compares fanatic, zealot and enthusiast.[2] A fanatic pursues an interest to irrational lengths, often excluding all others;[2] a zealot advances a cause with passionate fervour;[2] an enthusiast usually just has a strong interest in something, without the unfavourable connotations of the other two.[2]

References

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