This week’s theme
Words derived from body parts

This week’s words
iron-hearted
pugnacious
ithyphallic
chicken-livered
hysteric

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This week’s comments
AWADmail 945

Next week’s theme
Characters related to slavery who have become words in the English language

A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(his-TER-ik)

MEANING:

adjective: Exhibiting an uncontrolled or overly emotional state, volatility, attention-seeking behavior, etc.
noun: An overly emotional or unstable person.

ETYMOLOGY:

Via Latin from Greek hystera (uterus), from the former belief that disturbances in the uterus resulted in such behavior. Earliest documented use: 1652.

USAGE:

“And they say, you know what, he is hysteric. He is the nut.”
General Wesley Clark Says Petraeus Is Right Man for Afghanistan; Analyst Wire; Jun 25, 2010.

“[Her] father is suddenly transformed into a stranger -- a hostile hysteric who’s lost all contact with the here and now.”
Sandra Hall; Strong McConville Gives Drama Punch; Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia); Mar 8, 2020.

See more usage examples of hysteric in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: