Etymologically
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manic

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:54. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈmeə̯nɪk/, /ˈmɛə̯nɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek μανικός (manikós, “mad, frenzied”),[2][3][4][5] from μανία (manía, “madness”) and the suffix -ικός (-ikós).[2][4] Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford derive it from English mania + -ic.[6][7] The OED notes that its 20th-century medical use probably follows German manisch, first in the compound manisch-depressiv.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to or affected by mania: 1823–4, in Miss Hart's letters from the Bahama Islands, in the OED,[2] about 1824 in Merriam-Webster.[4] Etymonline dates the word to 1902,[6] the Shorter Oxford to the early 20th century,[7] and Collins to the 19th century.[8]

Semantic evolution

The word became common as a clinical term at the beginning of the 20th century: manic-depressive is recorded from 1902 and manic depression from 1903; an older name for the condition was circular insanity (1857), from French folie circulaire.[6] From 1957 it was used in everyday speech for anything hectic, frenetic or overenthusiastic, and the noun, a person affected by mania, appeared in the same year.[2] The phrase manic pixie dream girl, a vivacious and quirky stock female character in films and books, is first recorded in 2007 on a blog.[2]

Timeline

  • 1823 – relating to or affected by mania.[2]
  • 1902 – manic-depressive.[6]
  • 1903 – manic depression.[6]
  • 1957 – hectic, wild, frenetic; noun, a person affected by mania.[2]
  • 2007 – manic pixie dream girl.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to, characterized by or affected with mania.[8][4][2]
  2. (informal) Wildly energetic, hectic or frenetic: the manic last week before the exams.[2][8]

Noun

  1. A person affected with mania.[8][4][2]

Word family

  • manically
  • manic-depressive
  • manic depression

References

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