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mania

Etymology and origin of the English word mania

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmeɪ.ni.ə/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English manye, mania,[2][3] borrowed from Late Latin mania (“madness”),[4][2][3][5][6] from Ancient Greek μανία (manía, “madness, frenzy”),[4][2][3][5][6] related to maínesthai “to rage, go mad” and ménos “passion, spirit”,[2][3][5] perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- “to think”.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mental derangement marked by great excitement and delusion (about 1385 in Barnhart; c. 1400 in the OED).[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “a vehement passion or enthusiasm, a craze” dates from 1689, after French manie.[7][2][3] Since the 16th century -mania has been used, on the model of a few Greek compounds, to form names of particular kinds of madness or craze,[2][3] such as nymphomania (1775), kleptomania (1830) and megalomania (1890).[2][3] In psychiatry mania is the elevated, overactive phase of bipolar disorder.[4][5][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1385 – derangement, frenzy.[2][3]
  • 1604 – maniac.[2]
  • 1689 – a craze or vehement enthusiasm.[7][2][3]
  • 1777 – with a qualifier, as tulip mania.[7]
  • 1902 – manic.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An excessively intense enthusiasm, interest or desire; a craze.
  2. (psychiatry) A state of abnormally elevated mood, racing thoughts and excessive activity, especially the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
  3. Violent abnormal behaviour; madness.

Word family

  • -mania
  • monomania
  • dipsomania
  • manic
  • maniac
  • megalomania
  • mind
  • maenad

References

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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mania.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/mania. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·