different between eruption vs paroxysm

English

Etymology

From Middle French éruption, from Latin eruptio

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /????p??n/
• Rhymes: -?p??n

Noun

eruption (countable and uncountable, plural eruptions)

1. A violent ejection, such as the spurting out of lava from a volcano.
2. A sudden release of pressure or tension.

   There was an eruption of joy at the final whistle.

4. An infection of the skin resulting in a rash or blemishing.

Derived terms

Translations

Interlingua

Noun

eruption (plural eruptiones)

1. eruption, outbreak

English

Etymology

From French paroxysme, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus (“severe illness, fit of agony, paroxysm”), from Ancient Greek ?????????? (paroxusmós, “irritation, the severe fit of a disease”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?pæ?.?k?s?z.?m/

Noun

paroxysm (plural paroxysms)

1. A random or sudden outburst (of activity).
   • 1903, Jack London, The Call of the Wild

     Unable to turn his back on the fanged danger and go on, the bull would be driven into paroxysms of rage.

   • 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

     «There, on the soft sand, a few feet away from our elders, we would sprawl all morning, in a petrified paroxysm of desire, and take advantage of every blessed quirk in space and time to touch each other […] »

   • 1983, John Fowles, Mantissa

     Indeed in his excitement at this breakthrough he inadvertently dug his nails into the nurse's bottom, a gesture she misinterpreted, so that he had to suffer a paroxysm of breasts and loins in response.

2. An explosive event during a volcanic eruption.
3. A sudden recurrence of a disease, such as a seizure or a coughing fit.

Derived terms

• paroxysmal

Related terms

• oxymoron

Translations

Further reading

• paroxysm in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• paroxysm in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• paroxysm at OneLook Dictionary Search