hyperactivity

Etymology

It is formed from English hyper- + activity,^[2] the prefix meaning "over, to excess",^[2] from Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, beyond”).^[2] Dictionary.com and the Shorter Oxford instead take it as hyperactive with the suffix -ity.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline dates both hyperactivity and hyperactive to 1852.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives 1888 as the first known use, for the general sense of being overly active,^[5] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1885–90,^[3] and the Shorter Oxford to the late 19th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Besides overactivity in general, the word is used of an organ or bodily function working at an abnormally high level.^[5] In medicine it names the general restlessness and excessive movement of children with attention deficit disorder or hyperkinesis,^[6] and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate gives that disorder itself as a special sense.^[7] The adjective hyperactive is likewise used especially of a child who is constantly active and sometimes disruptive.^[8][4]

Timeline

• 1852 – excessive activity.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates this sense to 1888.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The state of being too active, or restlessness and constant activity: The puppy's hyperactivity wore everyone out.^[5][7]
2. An abnormally high level of function or activity, as of an organ or gland.^[5][9]
3. (medicine) Restlessness and excessive movement, as in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or hyperkinesis.^[6][7]

Word family

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Related words

• hyperactive
• activity
• active
• hyperkinesis

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Stedman's Medical Dictionary, Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt