entry
hysteric
/hɪsˈtɛɹɪk/emotionally frantic; relating to hysteria
From Greek hyster- (womb).
from Greek hysterikos "belonging to the womb" (see hysterical , which is the more common adjective). As a noun, "one...
from Latin hystericus
+1 more sourcefrom Latin hystericus
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Greek hysterikos "belonging to the womb" (see hysterical , which is the more common adjective). As a noun, "one...
from Latin hystericus
+1 more sourcefrom Latin hystericus
+1 more sourceA word for emotional unruliness began life in the very unglamorous anatomy of the womb. Greek doctors used hystera for the uterus, and hysterikos meant something like “uterine,” which is why ancient medicine imagined certain female ailments as the wandering mischief of that organ. Latin picked it up as hystericus, and English later borrowed it in the 1650s, long before “hysteric” settled into its modern insult for someone acting wildly irrational. The family still peeks out in the more familiar “hysteria,” but the original image is almost comic: a medical term about one body part eventually becoming a label for a whole storm of behavior. It is a reminder that English loves to turn old anatomy into social judgment, and this one still carries the ghost of a Greek doctor peering into the uterus for answers.
The Story
A word for emotional unruliness began life in the very unglamorous anatomy of the womb. Greek doctors used hystera for the uterus, and hysterikos meant something like “uterine,” which is why ancient medicine imagined certain female ailments as the wandering mischief of that organ. Latin picked it up as hystericus, and English later borrowed it in the 1650s, long before “hysteric” settled into its modern insult for someone acting wildly irrational. The family still peeks out in the more familiar “hysteria,” but the original image is almost comic: a medical term about one body part eventually becoming a label for a whole storm of behavior. It is a reminder that English loves to turn old anatomy into social judgment, and this one still carries the ghost of a Greek doctor peering into the uterus for answers.
Kin & Kindred
From 'hyster-'·womb, uterus
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary