insane English · revision 5513

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1560|origins=la sānus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪnˈseɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|īnsānus|t=mad, of unsound mind]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|in-|t=not]] and [[m|la|sānus|t=healthy, sound]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[sane]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a person, not of sound mind: 1560 in the OED and Barnhart, the 1550s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) MWU dates it to about 1550.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 17th-century use it could mean “causing madness”, as Latin insanus did.^(OED 1989) The noun use, an insane person, is from 1786, and the plural in such names as ''insane asylum''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Of actions or things, senseless or utterly foolish, is from 1842,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and the informal sense “wild, extreme” followed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Insanity'' is from 1590.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1560 – of unsound mind.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590 – ''insanity''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1605 – causing madness (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1786 – an insane person.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1842 – senseless, foolish.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(often offensive)'' Seriously [[mentally ill]]; mad.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' Not responsible for one's actions because of mental illness.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very foolish or unreasonable: ''an insane idea''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Wild or extreme.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[insanely]]

+ * [[insaneness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[insanity]]

+ * [[sane]]

+ * [[sanitary]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}