different between hysterical vs hysteria

English

Etymology

From hysteric +? -al, from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ????????? (husterikós, “suffering in the womb, hysterical”), from ??????? (hustér?, “womb”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /h??st???k?l/

Adjective

hysterical (comparative more hysterical, superlative most hysterical)

1. Of, or arising from hysteria.
   • 1848, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair, Chapter 16:

     An event of this nature, a marriage, or a refusal, or a proposal, thrills through a whole household of women, and sets all their hysterical sympathies at work.

2. Having, or prone to having hysterics.
3. Provoking uncontrollable laughter.

Usage notes

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

Related terms

• hysteric
• hysterics
• hysteria

Translations

Further reading

• hysterical in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• hysterical at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From New Latin hysteria, from hysteric, from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ????????? (husterikós, “suffering in the uterus, hysterical”), from ?????? (hustéra, “womb”). Compare French hystérie.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /h??st??ij?/, /h??st??ij?/
• Rhymes: -???i?

Noun

hysteria (usually uncountable, plural hysterias or hysteriae or hysteriæ)

1. Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic.
2. (medicine) A mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability etc. without an organic cause.
3. (informal, pathology) Synonym of conversion disorder
4. (obsolete, pathology, until early 20th century) Any disorder of women with some psychiatric symptoms without other diagnosis, ascribed to uterine influences on the female body, lack of pregnancy, or lack of sex.

Synonyms

• (mental disorder): female hysteria
• (obsolete female disorder): uterine melancholy

Derived terms

Related terms

• hysteric, hysterics
• hysterical

Translations

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• this year

Finnish

Noun

hysteria

1. hysteria

Declension

Compounds

• joukkohysteria