panic English · revision 133
5 Oct 2026, 22:03 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -1,7 +1,48 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈpænɪk/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− First recorded as an adjective in 1603, in phrases such as ''panic fear'',^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) and as a noun in 1708.^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) It is [[bor|frm|panique]],^(Wiktionary)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|πανικός|tr=panikós|t=of Pan]],^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) from [[grc|Πάν|tr=Pán]], god of woods and fields.^(Etymonline) Sounds heard by night on mountains and in valleys were attributed to Pan, and so he was reputed to be the cause of any sudden, groundless fear.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ It is [[bor|frm|panique]],^(Wiktionary)^(RHWU) [[der|grc|πανικός|tr=panikós|t=of Pan]],^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) from [[grc|Πάν|tr=Pán]], god of woods and fields.^(Etymonline) Sounds heard by night on mountains and in valleys were attributed to Pan, and so he was reputed to be the cause of any sudden, groundless fear.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
Unrelated to [[panic grass]], which is [[der|la|pānicum|t=a kind of millet]].^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ As an adjective (1603), describing fear or terror of the kind attributed to the god Pan, as in ''panic fear''.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The noun followed in 1708, for a sudden excessive fear affecting a group of people,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) and by 1757 it was used of widespread alarm about financial matters.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb is recorded from 1827 in the sense “to afflict with panic”;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the intransitive sense “to lose one's head” followed in 1902, or 1910 according to the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In slang a ''panic'' is also someone or something very funny,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) and in computing a system crash.^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1603 – adjective, as in ''panic fear''.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1708 – noun, “sudden mass terror”.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1757 – financial panic.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1804 – ''panic-stricken''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1827 – verb, “to affect with panic”.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1902 – verb, “to lose one's head”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1948 – ''panic button'', figuratively, in the jargon of jet pilots.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1970 – ''panic attack''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A sudden overwhelming fear, often spreading through a group.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A sudden widespread fear about financial affairs, leading to a rush to sell.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(slang)'' Someone or something hilariously funny.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Caused by or relating to sudden overwhelming fear.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)
+ # Of or relating to the god Pan.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To feel, or to cause, sudden overwhelming fear.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(slang)'' To make an audience laugh uproariously.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[panicky]]
+ * [[panic-stricken]]
+ * [[panic attack]]
+ * [[panic button]]
+ * [[panic disorder]]
+ * [[panic bar]]
+
==References==
{{reflist}}