different between mad vs eccentric

English

Etymology

From Middle English mad, madde, madd, medd, from Old English ?em?dd, ?em?ded (“enraged”), past participle of ?em?dan, *m?dan (“to make insane or foolish”), from Proto-Germanic *maidijan? (“to change; damage; cripple; injure; make mad”), from Proto-Germanic *maidaz ("weak; crippled"; compare Old English gem?d (“silly, mad”), Old High German gimeit (“foolish, crazy”), literary German gemeit (“mad, insane”), Gothic ???????????????????????????? (gamaiþs, “crippled”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ("to change"; compare Old Irish máel (“bald, dull”), Old Lithuanian ap-maitinti (“to wound”), Sanskrit ????? (méthati, “he hurts, comes to blows”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?mæd/
• (Southern England, Australia) IPA^(key): /?mæ?d/
• Rhymes: -æd

Adjective

mad (comparative madder, superlative maddest)

1. Insane; crazy, mentally deranged.
2. (chiefly US; informal in UK) Angry, annoyed.

3. (chiefly in the negative, informal) Used litotically to indicate satisfaction or approval.
4. (Britain, informal) Bizarre; incredible.

   It's mad that I got that job back a day after being fired.

5. Wildly confused or excited.

   to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred

   • It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

   • 1787, R. Bage, The Fair Syrian, p.314

     My brother, quiet as a cat, seems perfectly contented with the internal feelings of his felicity. The Marquis, mad as a kitten, is all in motion to express it, from tongue to heel.

6. Extremely foolish or unwise; irrational; imprudent.
7. (colloquial, usually with for or about) Extremely enthusiastic about; crazy about; infatuated with; overcome with desire for.

8. (of animals) Abnormally ferocious or furious; or, rabid, affected with rabies.

9. (slang, chiefly Northeastern US) Intensifier, signifies an abundance or high quality of a thing; very, much or many.

10. (of a compass needle) Having impaired polarity.

Usage notes

Within Commonwealth countries other than Canada, mad typically implies the insane or crazy sense more so than the angry sense.

In the United States and Canada, the word mad far more often than not refers to anger rather than madness, but such usage is still considered informal by some speakers and labeled as such even in North American English by most UK dictionaries. This is due to an old campaign (since 1781 by amateur language pundits) to discredit the angry sense of the word that was more effective in the UK than in North America. Though not as old as the sense denoting insanity, the sense relating to anger is certainly very old (going back at least to the fourteenth century).

On the other hand, if one is described as "went mad" or having "gone mad" in North America, this denotes insanity, and not anger. Meanwhile, if one "is mad at" something or has "been mad about" something, it is understood that they are angered rather than insane. In addition, such derivatives as "madness", "madman", "madhouse" and "madly" always denote insanity, irrespective of whether one is in the Commonwealth or in North America.

Synonyms

• (insane): See also Thesaurus:insane
• (angry): See also Thesaurus:angry
• (slang: Intensifier, much): wicked, mighty, kinda, helluv, hella.

Translations

Notes

Adverb

mad (not comparable)

1. (slang, New England, New York and Britain, dialect) Intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.

   He was driving mad slow.

   It's mad hot today.

   He seems mad keen on her.

Synonyms

• (slang: Intensifier; very): hella; helluv; wicked

Verb

mad (third-person singular simple present mads, present participle madding, simple past and past participle madded)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To be or become mad. [14th-19th c.]
   • 1852, Washington Irving, Tales from the Alhambra:

     The imperial Elizabetta gazed with surprise at the youthful and unpretending appearance of the little being that had set the world madding.

2. (now colloquial US) To madden, to anger, to frustrate. [from 15th c.]
   • c. 1595, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard the Second, Act V Scene 5:

     This musick mads me, let it sound no more.

Derived terms

Anagrams

• ADM, AMD, Adm., DAM, DMA, MDA, adm., dam

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *mad, from Proto-Celtic *matis.

Adjective

mad

1. good

Noun

mad

1. goodness

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse matr, from Proto-Germanic *matiz, cognate with Norwegian, Swedish mat (“food”), English meat, German Mett (from Low German).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mað/, [?mað]
• Rhymes: -ad

Noun

mad c (singular definite maden, not used in plural form)

1. food

Inflection

Derived terms

• babymad

Noun 2

mad c (singular definite madden, plural indefinite madder)

1. a slice of bread with something on top.

Usage notes

Very compound-prone; see for example ostemad or pølsemad.

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma??ð/, [?ma?ð]

Verb

mad

1. imperative of made

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ?em?dd, ?em?ded, the past participle of ?em?dan.

Alternative forms

• madd, medd

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mad/, /m?d/

Adjective

mad (plural and weak singular madde, comparative madder, superlative maddyst)

1. Mad, insane, deranged; not of sound mind.
2. Emotionally overwhelmed; consumed by mood or feelings.
3. Perplexed, bewildered; surprised emotionally.
4. Irate, rageful; having much anger or fury.
5. Idiotic or dumb; badly thought out or conceived
6. (rare) Obstinate, incautious, overenthusiastic.
7. (rare) Distraught, sad, unhappy.
8. (rare) Scatterbrained or absent-minded.

Derived terms

• amad
• madden
• madhede
• madli
• madnes
• madschipe

Descendants

• English: mad
• Scots: mad

References

• “m??d, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-09.

Etymology 2

Derived from the adjective.

Verb

mad

1. Alternative form of madden

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma?d/, /mad/

Verb

mad

1. past participle of make

Old Irish

Etymology

Univerbation of má (“if”) +? ba/bid

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mað/

Verb

mad

1. if it be; if it were (third-person singular present/past subjunctive)
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 10^d23

   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 12^c36

Palauan

Etymology 1

From Pre-Palauan *maða, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mata, from Proto-Austronesian *maCa.

Noun

mad

1. (anatomy) eye (organ), face, facial expression
2. front; area, space or time in front of

3. aperture, access, entrance

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Pre-Palauan *maðe, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian *(m-)aCay.

Verb

mad

1. to die

Notes

References

• mad in Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary, at tekinged.com.
• mad in Palauan-English Dictionary, at trussel2.com.
• mad in Lewis S. Josephs; Edwin G. McManus; Masa-aki Emesiochel (1977) Palauan-English Dictionary, University Press of Hawaii, ?ISBN, page 139.

Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *mad, from Proto-Celtic *matis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma?d/

Adjective

mad (feminine singular mad, plural mad, equative mated, comparative matach, superlative mataf)

1. good
2. lucky, fortunate
3. suitable

Noun

mad m (plural madioedd)

1. goodness
2. good person

Mutation

English

Alternative forms

• eccentrick (obsolete)
• excentric
• excentrick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French excentrique, from Medieval Latin excentricus, from Ancient Greek ????????? (ékkentros, “not having the earth as the center of an orbit”), from ?? (ek, “out”) + ??????? (kéntron, “point”). Equivalent to ex- +? -centric.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?s?nt??k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?k?s?nt??k/

Adjective

eccentric (comparative more eccentric, superlative most eccentric)

1. Not at or in the centre; away from the centre.
   • 2011, Michael Laver, Ernest Sergenti. Party Competition: An Agent-Based Model, page 125,

     Strikingly, we see that party births tend systematically to be at policy positions that are significantly more eccentric than those of surviving parties, whatever decision rule these parties use.

2. Not perfectly circular; elliptical.

   As of 2008, Margaret had the most eccentric orbit of any moon in the solar system, though Nereid's mean eccentricity is greater.

3. Having a different center; not concentric.
4. (of a person) Deviating from the norm; behaving unexpectedly or differently; unconventional and slightly strange.
   • 1801, Author not named, Fyfield (John), entry in Eccentric Biography; Or, Sketches of Remarkable Characters, Ancient and Modern, page 127,

     He was a man of a most eccentric turn of mind, and great singularity of conduct.

   • 1807, G. H. Wilson (editor), The Eccentric Mirror, Volume 3, page 17,

     Such is not the case with Mr. Martin Van Butchell, one of the most eccentric characters to be found in the British metropolis, and a gentleman of indisputable science and abilities, but whose strange humors and extraordinary habits, have rather tended to obscure than to display the talents he possessed.

   • 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lecture I:

     There can be no doubt that as a matter of fact a religious life, exclusively pursued, does tend to make the person exceptional and eccentric.

   • 1956, Arthur C. Clarke, The City and the Stars, 2012, unnumbered page,

     Khedron was the only other person in the city who could be called eccentric—and even his eccentricity had been planned by the designers of Diaspar.

5. (physiology, of a motion) Against or in the opposite direction of contraction of a muscle (e.g., such as results from flexion of the lower arm (bending of the elbow joint) by an external force while contracting the triceps and other elbow extensor muscles to control that movement; opening of the jaw while flexing the masseter).
6. Having different goals or motives.
   • a. 1626, Francis Bacon, 1867, Richard Whately (analysis and notes), James R. Boyd (editor), Essay XI: Wisdom for a Man's Self, Lord Bacon's Essays, page 171,

     […] for whatsoever affairs pass such a man's hands he crooketh them to his own ends, which must needs be often eccentric to those of his master or state: […]

Usage notes

• (physiology, of motion): Motions that are eccentric or the opposite (concentric) are classified as isotonic (“having equal tension”), the antonym of which is isometric (“retaining equal length”). See also Isometric exercise on Wikipedia.Wikipedia .

Synonyms

• (not at or in the centre): eccentrical, excentrical
• (not perfectly circular): eccentrical, excentrical
• (having a different centre): eccentrical, excentrical
• (deviating from the norm): eccentrical, excentrical, odd, abnormal; see also Thesaurus:eccentric
• (against the contraction of a muscle):
• (having different goals or motives): eccentrical, excentrical

Antonyms

• (against the contraction of a muscle): concentric

Derived terms

• eccentrically
• eccentric anomaly
• eccentric contraction
• eccentric flint
• eccentric hypertrophy

Related terms

• central
• centric
• eccentricity

Translations

Noun

eccentric (plural eccentrics)

1. One who does not behave like others.
   • 1989, Jeffrey Robinson, Rainier and Grace, page 26:

     A tiny, feisty woman who always spoke her mind, Charlotte was an eccentric in the wonderful way that some women from the last century were natural eccentrics.

   • 1998, Michael Gross, Life On The Edge, 2001, page ix,

     Eccentrics live longer, happier, and healthier lives than conformist normal citizens, according to the neuropsychologist David Weeks.

2. (slang) A kook; a person of bizarre habits or beliefs.
3. (geometry) A circle not having the same centre as another.
4. (engineering) A disk or wheel with its axis off centre, giving a reciprocating motion.

Synonyms

• (person who does not behave like others): misfit, nonconformist; see also Thesaurus:maverick
• (person of bizarre habits or beliefs): crank, odd duck, weirdo; see also Thesaurus:strange person

Translations

See also

• acentric