delirium English · revision 161
5 Oct 2026, 22:07 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -1,6 +1,32 @@
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /dɪˈlɪ.ɹi.əm/ ''(UK)''; /dɪˈlɪɹ.i.əm/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− First recorded in the 1590s,^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) or c. 1563 according to Merriam-Webster,^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|la|dēlīrium|t=madness]],^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[der|la|dēlīrāre|t=to be deranged, crazy]],^(OED 1989)^(AHD) literally “to leave the furrow” in ploughing,^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) from ''dē-'' “off, away” + ''līra'' “furrow”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|ine-pro|*leis-|t=track, furrow]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD)
+ It is [[bor|la|dēlīrium|t=madness]],^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) [[der|la|dēlīrāre|t=to be deranged, crazy]],^(OED 1989)^(AHD) literally “to leave the furrow” in ploughing,^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) from ''dē-'' “off, away” + ''līra'' “furrow”,^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|ine-pro|*leis-|t=track, furrow]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD)
− ''Delirium tremens'', medical Latin for “trembling delirium”, was introduced in 1813 by the British physician Thomas Sutton.^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A disordered, more or less temporary state of mind, often occurring with fever or illness (1590s).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The figurative sense “violent excitement, mad rapture” dates from the 1640s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Delirium tremens'', medical Latin for “trembling delirium”, was introduced in 1813 by the British physician Thomas Sutton, and was later applied almost exclusively to delirium caused by alcohol.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1563 – Merriam-Webster's date.^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1599 – the OED's first quotation, in the medical sense.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1640s – “uncontrollable excitement”.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * 1813 – ''delirium tremens''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A temporary state of mental confusion, with disordered speech and often hallucinations, caused by fever, intoxication, or illness.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Wild excitement or emotion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[deliriant]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[deliration]]
+ * [[delirious]]
+ * [[delirium tremens]]
==References==