![]() “Hysteric” and “hysterical” were the most common uses when it surfaced in English in the very early 1600s from the Latin hystericus, or “of the womb,” which in turn came from the Greek hysterikos, meaning either “of the womb” or “suffering in the womb,” and the base noun hystera, or “womb” (i.e., uterus).Īs you might expect from the origin, the medical Latin term “ hysteria” was used to diagnose neuroses that were almost entirely specific to women-and that were believed to be caused by the uterus. Although hysteria was once a very common diagnosis, medical professionals no longer use the term “hysteria” in this sense, instead using more specific and recently-coined names for disorders. These days, as we all know, hysteria usually refers to “exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people.” In an antiquated sense, it can also refer to a general category of psychological disorders. But as the news has taught us, mass hysteria isn’t limited to people with uteri anymore.įeeling a bit too sane today? Me too! I didn’t feel much like reading the news for my daily dose of what-the-fuckery, so instead I elected to delve into the frenzied world of human neuroses with the compelling history of the term “hysteria.” (Excuse the length here this word has a boatload of intriguing history to unpack.) Derived from the Greek and Latin words for uterus, hysteria was an extremely common, catch-all medical diagnosis that more or less meant that the patient had a case of the Lady Crazies.
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