hysteric

English

Alternative forms

• hysterick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστερικός (husterikós, “suffering in the uterus, hysterical”), from ὑστέρα (hustéra, “womb”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɪsˈtɛɹɪk/

Adjective

hysteric (comparative more hysteric, superlative most hysteric)

1. (medicine) Hysterical; relating to hysteria.
   • 1781, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The Critic: Or A Tragedy Rehearsed […], London: […] T[homas] Becket, […], →OCLC, Act I, scene i, pages 4–5:

     Yes, my dravving-room is an abſolute regiſter-office for candidate actors, and poets vvithout character;—then to be continually alarmed vvith Miſſes and Ma'ams piping hiſteric changes on Juliets and Dorindas, Pollys and Ophelias; […]

   • 1969, Edmund Bergler, Selected Papers of Edmund Bergler, 1933-1961, page 697:

     We also find gamblers of this type among some frigid hysteric women, who seem to treat gambling as they treat men, coldly and spongingly.

Noun

hysteric (plural hysterics)

1. A hysterical person.
   • 1956, Norman Mailer, The Man Who Studied Yoga:

     “Which girl was it now?” he asks a second time. ¶ “Oh, you know, the hysteric,” Eleanor says, “the one who was parading her bazooms in your face.”

Usage notes

• Like many terms that start with a non-silent h but have emphasis on their second syllable, some people precede hysteric with an, others with a.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} hystérique (fr) m or f
• German: ^{(please verify)} Hysteriker m, (female) ^{(please verify)} Hysterikerin f
• Icelandic: (of a man) ^{(please verify)} sefjasjúkur maður m, (of a woman) ^{(please verify)} sefjasjúk kona f, (of a man) ^{(please verify)} móðursjúkur maður m, (of a woman) ^{(please verify)} móðursjúk kona f, (of a man) ^{(please verify)} æstur maður m, (of a woman) ^{(please verify)} æst kona f

Related terms

• hysteria
• hysterical

 

Further reading

• “hysteric”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “hysteric”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.