Etymologically
Log in

frenzy

Etymology and origin of the English word frenzy

History Permalink
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Old French frenesie via Middle English

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈfɹɛnzi/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frenesie,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French frenesie (“madness”),[2][5][6] from Medieval Latin phrenēsia,[2][3][5][6] from Latin phrenēsis, a back-formation from phrenēticus “delirious”,[2][5][6] ultimately from Greek phrenîtis “inflammation of the brain”.[4] It is related to frenetic and frantic.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mental derangement; delirium or temporary insanity (c1340).[7][6] Barnhart dates the contracted form frensye to before 1396, and frenesye to about 1378.[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense was extended about 1400 to any agitated state of mind likened to madness: wild rage, enthusiasm or excitement.[7][5][6] By 1632 it could mean a crazy notion or a craze for something,[7][2] and today it often describes intense, disorderly activity, as in a shopping frenzy or feeding frenzy.[3][1] The verb, “to drive into a frenzy”, dates from the 1790s.[3][6][7]

Timeline

  • c1340 – delirium, temporary insanity.[7][6]
  • c1386 – figurative, a state of wild agitation.[7][5]
  • 1577 – adjective, mad (obsolete).[7]
  • 1632 – a crazy notion; a craze.[7]
  • 1791 – verb, to affect with frenzy.[3]
  • 1796 – frenzied.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A state of violent mental agitation or wild excitement.
  2. Temporary madness or delirium.
  3. Intense, wild and often disorderly activity.
  4. A mania or craze.

Verb

  1. To drive into a frenzy; to make frantic.

Word family

  • frenzily
  • feeding frenzy
  • frantic
  • frenetic
  • frenzied
  • schizophrenia
  • phrenology

References

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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Frenzy.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/frenzy. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·