hysteria English · revision 2188

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɪˈstɪəɹiə/ ''(UK)''; /hɪˈstɛɹiə/, /hɪˈstɪɹiə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-new|hysteria]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) formed from English ''hysteric'' “of hysteria” (1657),^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) from Latin ''hystericus'' “of the womb”,^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) [[der|grc|ὑστερικός|tr=husterikós]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) from ''hustérā'' “womb”.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It reflects the old belief that the condition was peculiar to women and caused by disturbance of the uterus.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A functional disturbance of the nervous system, then regarded as a neurosis peculiar to women (1801).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense “morbid excitement, unhealthy emotion” is recorded by 1839,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and today the word usually means any uncontrollable outburst of emotion, such as fear or panic.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) In medicine and psychiatry the term is no longer current, having been replaced by names such as ''conversion disorder''.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1615 – ''hysterical''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1657 – ''hysteric''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1727 – ''hysterics''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1801 – the nervous disorder.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – morbid excitement.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated, psychiatry)'' A psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and physical symptoms without an organic cause.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hysteric]]

+ * [[hysterically]]

+ * [[mass hysteria]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hysterics]]

+ * [[hysterical]]

+ * [[hysterectomy]]

+ * [[uterus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Some usage advisers recommend caution with ''hysteria'' and ''hysterical'' because their medical history is bound up with stereotypes about women.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}